Q: I like real hats, but with so few men wearing hats these days it’s hard to learn proper hat etiquette. If only my grandfather were here to set me straight. Under what circumstances does one remove his hat? When I was younger, my parents taught me to take off my hat when I went indoors. I see men wearing their hats indoors, on airplanes and even while dining! Also, once the hat is removed, where does one store it? It is a rarity to find a coat-and-hat rack in public places these days. And where I live, few restaurants have coatrooms.

A: In a public building, a man may keep his hat on in the corridors and in elevators. When one enters a room, one should remove one’s hat. Once upon a time, a man was supposed to remove his hat if a lady entered the elevator, an elevator being analogous to a room, but today elevators are so crowded, often with ladies, that it is more prudent to keep it on one’s head, where it doesn’t compete for floor space. In Grandpa’s day, a gentleman removed his hat when greeting a woman friend on the street; this was usually done with the left hand in case she offered her hand for a shake. If they should happen to walk together, or if the weather was bad, he would feel free to put his hat back on. In this benighted age of adjustable baseball caps, the practice of such niceties appears even nicer. My grandpa always removed his hat for the national anthem (my country, right or wrong) and for the passing of a flag or a funeral procession, and he lifted it when passing a church. Today one also removes one’s hat (and shoes) when being frisked at the airport. As for hat storage, a restaurant should be prepared for the possible onslaught of civilization, and so, if there is no proper storage, one should ask the host, hostess or waitperson where one might temporarily store one’s hat. If the facility provides no suitable accommodation and no unused chair is handy, a gentleman is justified in leaving it on, at a rakish angle proportionate with his degree of displeasure.

May 2003

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