What ever happened to wearing hats?

When and why did men stop wearing hats?

I love to watch old movies, and I have noticed the hat styles change over the years. The later years - seems it was into the mid '60's - the hat brims got narrower. I think of Darrin on Bewitched as one of the last hat wearers. His little hat had the narrow brim. Or Buddy from The Dick Van Dyke Show - he had the same kind of narrow-brimmed hat.

I saw a similar hat on a neighbor kid the other day. It seems it is cool to wear a hat like that. This week.

Cowboys wear hats. Country music singers wear cowboy hats. Anyone born in Texas, Oklahoma, or anyplace they say "Y'all" probably owns at least one hat. And cowboy boots. Must have the cowboy boots. It looks kinda funny if you wear a cowboy hat and tennis shoes. Yes, and don't forget the pickup truck. It's part of the whole ensemble.

I was given a hat once a few years ago. Apparently it was an expensive hat. Living in the city as I then was, I found I was rather an oddity wearing this hat around town. I took to wearing the hat only on days when I sold three cars - as I had then performed what is commonly known as a 'hat trick' (3 sales in one day = 'a hat trick'). So if you saw me walking out to my car that night wearing the hat, you knew I had a good day. Or that I was a little odd - but hey - I sold alot of cars, so they cut me some slack.

I did purchase a rather expensive hat for the purpose of keeping the sun off of my head. I am NOT interested in being a cowboy. I cannot STAND most country music. And I do not aspire to own a pickup truck. But all those things are assumed, as soon as I don the hat. What amazes me, is the number of 'helpful' people who can't abide the flat brim of my sun-hat. It is not right til you curl up the sides, they tell me. That seems to me, to defeat the purpose - which is to provide maximum shade from the sun. I have yet to hear one person give me a valid reason for curling up the sides of my hat. But it drives them crazy. I'm no slave to fashion. I paid good money for the most shade around my head. No country-listening, pickup-driving, tobacco-chewing, boot wearing fool is gonna tell me how to wreck my hat!

And another thing!: what is with the stupid curl-the-snout-of-your-baseball-cap into a TUBE almost, and then touch the tip of the bill to a ginder to make it look like CRAP?! The very same idiots who want to wreck my sun-hat - try and tell me to curl up the bill on my baseball caps! Same principles apply: straight/slightly curved bill = better chance of keeping the sun out of my eyes... the other way? not so much.. I'm surrounded by idiots.