hats

Why did the gentry always wear hats? Was it just a fashion thing?

I think that, up until recently, hats were almost as common as socks for almost everyone (in fact, when watching TCM movies, it's favorite sport between my father and me to comment on the hats and/or the angles at which they're worn). Hats and other headcoverings provided protection; are taken off or worn in church and become instruements in other ceremonies of respect or lack thereof; denote the status of the wearer; his/her nationality and/or religions (I reference the movie _Ninotchka_ and her comment: "How can such a civilization survive which permits their women to put things like that on their heads" -- about the hat she later buys and wears); often something of the personality of the wearer (think,for example, of Anne Bolyen's headgear vs. Catherine of Aragon's); and allow an amazing range of creativity in decoration. (And I'm so glad we no longer have to deal with them ourselves!),

Maria
elena@...

-----Original Message-----
From: carole jenkins
Sent: Mar 5, 2010 7:16 AM
To:
Subject: hats

Why did the gentry always wear hats? Was it just a fashion thing?

stylish hats were worn as a fashion statement.
hats or caps were for protection from lice, fleas and other vermin getting into your hair. nightcaps were worn to bed for this reason. they were also worn to keep your head warm and to protect your head from "regardez l'eau"..human toilet waste being thrown out windows.
 
i just looked on wikipedia for some more info. it's quite interesting.
 
roslyn

--- On Fri, 3/5/10, carole jenkins <carolejenkins57@...> wrote:


From: carole jenkins <carolejenkins57@...>
Subject: hats
To:
Received: Friday, March 5, 2010, 7:16 AM


 



Why did the gentry always wear hats? Was it just a fashion thing?