Doth thee doff thy chapeau?

[Dan Shane]

MICHIEL PRIOR WROTE:

> There seems also to be a rule for when the characters wear their hats or
> not. It's very obvious and simple, although it took me a while
> tot discover it:
> when outdoors, Donald, Scrooge and the nephews wear their hats and caps
> (unless the headwear gets lost, of course) and indoors they go
> bare-headed.

AND I REPLY:

This is possibly a reflection of the custom when Barks and others were
creating comic stories in the 1940s to the 1960s (at least in the US).  It
was considered bad manners to wear a hat in someone's home or in a business
office, and I still find it irksome to see so many people who refuse to bear
their heads at the dinner table or in a classroom.

It was customary for many to wear a hat outdoors in that time period, and if
a man entered a public building it was okay to keep his hat on in the lobby
or hallways.  He could continue to wear the hat in an elevator unless a lady
was present.  He was expected to remove the hat if a woman entered the lift.
Once a man entered an office would remove his chapeau.  (Thus the gag of
James Bond tossing his hat onto a hat rack in Miss Moneypenny's office.)

A woman could always keep her hat on in any situation if she so chose.  When
a man first met a woman, whether on the street or in a public building, it
was common practice for him to tip his hat as a sign of honor and
recognition.  Doing so really stems from days of yore when a knight would
open the visor on his helm to reveal his identity to a lady, proving he was
a friend.

It is very seldom we see a woman wearing a hat of any kind in America these
days (except during Kentucky Derby season in Louisville), and dress hats are
practically unknown on men.  Plenty of males wear baseball caps, often at
strange angles, and I have never understood why they keep them on during all
waking hours like cowboys.  It strikes me as a sign of passive rebellion,
but I suspect it mostly simple ignorance of what is considered mannerly.
There is plenty of evidence these days that manners are viewed as a thing of
the past.

Dan (who still tips his cap to a lady)