Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat • Hacker News Board

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#41

Post by jwilliamson » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 5:38 AM UTC

thaumasiotes wrote: post #30

pantaloony wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I hope we don’t lose the blazer and sport coat, at least. They’re great. Like a purse for men, but even better than that because you wear them. Unlike winter coats or hoodies they’re not shlubby-looking and you can wear (appropriate cloth & weight) ones in almost any weather. I’m OK with the suit going but damn, without those there’s not much left for guys to wear that’s not athletic wear of some kind or another (and…

> there’s not much left for guys to wear that’s not athletic wear of some kind or another (and hell, sport coats kinda are anyway) Sport coats are athletic wear? To me, a sport coat is the same thing as a suit jacket, with the only difference being that a sport coat isn't the same color as your pants. It will literally become a suit jacket if you put on matching pants. For example, a sport coat, very much unlike athl…

Sport coats evolved from riding and shooting jackets. I suspect some mobility has been lost over the years, but neither of those sports requiring raising your arms very high.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#42

Post by dwd » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 5:42 AM UTC

koolba wrote: post #4

WalterBright wrote: post #3

I've been wearing a hat outdoors for about 10 years now, since the doc carved pieces of flesh out of my forehead. It was annoying at first, but I grew to like it. It keeps the sunburn away. I was surprised how pleasant it made walking in the rain. It doesn't affect my hairstyle because my hair departed long ago. I do get ridiculed for it now and then, but one advantage of getting older is one stops caring about that,…

> since the doc carved pieces of flesh out of my forehead. Melanoma or fishing accident?

Melanomas are pretty drastic because they'll quickly spread cancer throughout your body, and require chemotherapy to prevent you from dying if not detected early enough.

More common you can get carcinomas that doctors prefer to cut out. BCCs often look like a rough patch of skin that never heals while a SCC can be more wart-like and also spread locally if not dealt with.

All are caused by sun damage.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#43

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 5:43 AM UTC

dwd wrote: post #39

WalterBright wrote: post #3

I've been wearing a hat outdoors for about 10 years now, since the doc carved pieces of flesh out of my forehead. It was annoying at first, but I grew to like it. It keeps the sunburn away. I was surprised how pleasant it made walking in the rain. It doesn't affect my hairstyle because my hair departed long ago. I do get ridiculed for it now and then, but one advantage of getting older is one stops caring about that,…

Same. Had a SCC cut out where my hair is thinning above my forehead back in March, but the lockdown put a hold on finding and trying out a nice felt hat - still a month off having to go back into the office. I wonder if there's a noticable correlation between head cancers and the end of traditional hat wearing?

Could be. When I was young I went to Hawaii and got a bad blistering burn on my forehead, and I was only out for 15 minutes. I suspect that was the root cause.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#44

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 5:45 AM UTC

dwd wrote: post #42

koolba wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> since the doc carved pieces of flesh out of my forehead. Melanoma or fishing accident?

Melanomas are pretty drastic because they'll quickly spread cancer throughout your body, and require chemotherapy to prevent you from dying if not detected early enough. More common you can get carcinomas that doctors prefer to cut out. BCCs often look like a rough patch of skin that never heals while a SCC can be more wart-like and also spread locally if not dealt with. All are caused by sun damage.

Had a friend die young (in 20s) from melanoma. Horrible disease.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#45

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 6:01 AM UTC

canada_dry wrote: post #18

> dried up in just a few generations I think a decade from now they'll be analyzing the even more rapid demise of suits and briefcases. I remember when 'casual dress Fridays' started. A leading men's shop took out full page ads in the newspaper extolling the virtue of looking professional vs. casual . They've since gone bankrupt.

> demise of suits and briefcases

I still have my Samsonite briefcase my dad got me as a graduation present. Having a hard shell, it is perfect for my laptop, wires, and other junk. I also enjoy being the only person with such a briefcase.

A pic of what it looks like:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-SAMSONITE-Gray-Slim-Hard-Sh...

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#46

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 6:03 AM UTC

lvturner wrote: post #31

Frequently wear a baseball cap (that counts as a hat? Right?) on weekends thinning hair, pale skin and a subtropical climate pretty much mandate it - and the extra shade certainly improves the efficiency of my sunglasses! A lot of people use umbrellas here for the same purpose, but with dense crowds, overhead obsticles and tying up a hand... I'd rather wear some form of hat while out and about!

A baseball cap works for the forehead but does nothing for the tops of the ears. A fellow I know had the top quarter of one of his ears sliced off by the dermatologist.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#47

Post by WalterBright » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 6:05 AM UTC

brightball wrote: post #6

I’ve often wondered about getting a more wide brimmed hat as I get older, but I find that baseball cap does the job just fine.

That'll work if you let your hair cover your ears.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#48

Post by uedue828e » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 6:33 AM UTC

scarygliders wrote: post #5

My wife is Japanese. She trained as a Milliner, and has been desinging and making hats for decades. She's a damn great milliner. She won 1st prize in The Worshipful Company of Feltmakers of London competition, in the 90's. She worked for Philip Treacy. She's been in numerous magazine and newspaper articles. There is only one problem: no one buys hats these days :/

Is there something about hats and Japan?

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#49

Post by 082349872349872 » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 6:40 AM UTC

Cars also produced the tuxedo/smoking, because tails were not so compatible with bench seats.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#50

Post by dwd » Fri, Jul 10, 2020, 6:44 AM UTC

WalterBright wrote: post #43

dwd wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same. Had a SCC cut out where my hair is thinning above my forehead back in March, but the lockdown put a hold on finding and trying out a nice felt hat - still a month off having to go back into the office. I wonder if there's a noticable correlation between head cancers and the end of traditional hat wearing?

Could be. When I was young I went to Hawaii and got a bad blistering burn on my forehead, and I was only out for 15 minutes. I suspect that was the root cause.

I never wore sunscreen in my youth and pretty sure that's going to come back for me eventually. Everyone was doing Reef Sun Tan oil before the ozone hole days and Slip, Slop, Slap (I'm Australian) which was basically basting youself in coconut oil.