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Hat Etiquette
April, 03, 2008
Men wearing hats indoors is an Ottawa epidemic. There seems to be a faux macho fashion culture in Ottawa that demands hiding ones hair or eyes under the brim of a baseball styled cap.
In some cities this is a signal of gang affiliation, where the colour of the cap, the angle it is worn at or even its wear and tear means something.
In Ottawa it only means poor manners. And I don’t understand the signals that cap wearing Ottawa men are sending.
The activities that we partake in at night should be different from our daytime pursuits.
One might wear a cap on the way to work but never even consider keeping it on at work, unless your employment requires you to spend most of your time underneath an automobile or nailing up drywall.
Regardless of one's profession, after work, for a drink, a date or even dinner somehow wearing baseball head gear is curiously acceptable.
The up side of the hat epidemic is that one can use it as an indicator of the establishment you are entering. If you see men sitting at the bar or worse at a table with a date and they are wearing hats, you can be assured that you have entered into a nacho, chicken wing heaven.
A somewhat nicer place, with men sans hats, might mean that the service and the food would probably be better. It would at the very least mean that the tenor of the establishment demands some respect. Respect for the experience they offer and respect for the person you are with or even, dare I say it, respect for those others around you.
The other side of the coin, a sadder side, is the possibility of degraded self image. One could normally assume that any opportunity to dress well should be embraced enthusiastically.
As my father is always saying; Look sharp, Feel sharp.
Guys, remove your hats and become transformed into gentlemen.
Men wearing hats indoors is an Ottawa epidemic. There seems to be a faux macho fashion culture in Ottawa that demands hiding ones hair or eyes under the brim of a baseball styled cap.
In some cities this is a signal of gang affiliation, where the colour of the cap, the angle it is worn at or even its wear and tear means something.
In Ottawa it only means poor manners. And I don’t understand the signals that cap wearing Ottawa men are sending.
The activities that we partake in at night should be different from our daytime pursuits.
One might wear a cap on the way to work but never even consider keeping it on at work, unless your employment requires you to spend most of your time underneath an automobile or nailing up drywall.
Regardless of one's profession, after work, for a drink, a date or even dinner somehow wearing baseball head gear is curiously acceptable.
The up side of the hat epidemic is that one can use it as an indicator of the establishment you are entering. If you see men sitting at the bar or worse at a table with a date and they are wearing hats, you can be assured that you have entered into a nacho, chicken wing heaven.
A somewhat nicer place, with men sans hats, might mean that the service and the food would probably be better. It would at the very least mean that the tenor of the establishment demands some respect. Respect for the experience they offer and respect for the person you are with or even, dare I say it, respect for those others around you.
The other side of the coin, a sadder side, is the possibility of degraded self image. One could normally assume that any opportunity to dress well should be embraced enthusiastically.
As my father is always saying; Look sharp, Feel sharp.
Guys, remove your hats and become transformed into gentlemen.
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