We stopped at a few antiques co-ops in Vermont recently and noted that there were a number of “Top Hats” available. I didn’t price them because I have one in my collection. Some came with a matching leather hat box, which I also have. I’m not sure where the top hat I had in my teen years when I was considering becoming a magician disappeared. But when I had a chance at an auction, I felt like I should own one. For the most part top hats faded from the scene of formal occasions by the 1960s.
I’m writing this on September 15th and that reminded me of the Straw Hat Riots of 1922. It seems that September 15 was the last date, by custom, that men were to wear straw hats in New York City. Fellow businessmen and others, who knew each other, were likely to have their straw hats taken and “stomped” by a colleague if worn beyond the date. It seems some teens decided to start a little early and snatched the hats off the heads of strangers and stomped them. Reportedly some dock workers took offense and fought the kids. The scuffle turned into riots that went on for several days.
I also have a straw hat in my collection. I bought it at auction some years ago. It came along with a promotional poster for a local auctioneer who happened to “hire” me as a runner at Saturday auctions when the formalities of employment consisted of asking if someone in the audience wanted to work. I raised my hand and for a pre-teen I was happy for the sub-sub minimum wage. Straw hats are often associated with auctioneers, at least when auctions were more frequently held “on site” at a farm or household liquidations.
In the 1950s and 1960s men typically had felt hats that were worn to the office, and promptly removed upon entering a home or office. Women, of course, were acknowledged with a lifting of the hat slightly. For the most part men’s business hats were pretty standard. I do recall my father had a “modern” business hat with a flat-ish top. The seemed to be associated with advertising men, though my father was in public relations at the time.
I’ve generally avoided wearing a hat, but a fedora with a “press” pass tucked in the hatband might entice me.