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Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

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Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#91
post #90

They don't mention that so few people have served in the military these days. Wearing hats could have easily been more popular because so many more men were veterans back in the days after WWI and WWII. They would have been used to wearing hats after being in the service. The time hats started dropping off in popularity also correlates with the rise of the anti-war movement brought on by the Vietnam war. Also in the…

Men wearing hats in the West predates the military mass mobilization and conscription of the 20th century.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#92

> 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.

Hmm, I would have said the briefcase was essentially already dead. When's the last time you actually saw someone carrying one?

This morning. When I walked from my car to work. I used to (like a little more than a year ago, not back in the 90s or anything like that) ride the train with someone who carried one every day.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#93

> 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.

Hmm, I would have said the briefcase was essentially already dead. When's the last time you actually saw someone carrying one?

Before everyone stopped taking the subway here, it was quite common for business commuters to be carrying a briefcase. Though some sort of casual/dressy tote bag is just as common these days.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I would hate to shoulder a firearm wearing a modern sport coat. The dimensions of the parts of fabric and the orientation of the seams at the shoulder just don't permit the jacket to fit well while you to bring your hand out in front where it needs to be. I think more than a little mobility was lost (probably in the name of tighter fitment) over the years.

Actually, shooting jackets (for high-power shooting, at least) tend to fit pretty tight. The idea is that they help hold your body more rigid, giving you better stability when shooting at longer ranges (200, 300, and 600 yards). While I agree that sport coats aren't fit the same way, the lack of mobility is pretty common.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#95

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,…

Getting older, getting married, and having kids: all things that have significantly contributed to the shockingly low levels of care I give to the opinions of strangers and acquaintances.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#96

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,…

I find that putting on a big floppy hat is quicker and easier than applying sunscreen to my face. So I wear one during the summer when I'm outside. I keep an additional one at work for summertime lunch. The only obstacle is, when I'm outside, I'm often wearing a bike helmet.

I think the hat a lot of men (especially those with less hair) are looking for is called a boonie hat. More than a few guys I've recommended this hat to have said it's exactly what they wanted, they just didn't know the name.

These things cost 10 bucks at an Army/Navy surplus store. I've had mine for about 15 years now, it's held up great.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boonie_hat

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#97

As a Jewish man, I come from a long-line of hat-wearers. And I get a lot of complements from people on my hats when I'm out and about. Men are curious about them, as if the want to wear them, but fear looking silly.

My experience wearing a hat on my college campus was similar. I found a faux leather fedora (same style as Indiana Jones) and I'd wear that for sun and rain. I don't think anybody said anything negative about the hat, but I got several compliments on it. People like hats, they just worry too much about what others think of them.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#98
post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wait, Walter, what is this "wait 20 mins before it becomes effective"? Did I miss something? Aren't the standard ingredients simply opaque to UV frequencies right out of the bottle/tube?

There are chemical and physical active ingredients used in sunscreens, with many sunscreens containing a little of each. The physical components tend to work immediately as they block UV frequencies as you mentioned. The chemical components apparently need to be absorbed into the skin. This is a fairly succinct overview: https://blog.reneerouleau.com/chemical-vs-physical-sunscreen...

As a chemist I squinted at “need to be absorbed to be effective”.

The molecules in sunscreen either block or absorb UV. Nothing gets “absorbed into” the skin. It just sits on top (the skin is an amazing barrier).

The fact the molecule can absorb UV doesn’t change if it’s sitting in a tube or on top of your skin.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#99

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,…

Yes. I found wearing a baseball cap or golf cap help to reduce sunburn. It makes a difference during driving, especially when the top is down.

Re: Cars and hygiene killed the middle-class hat

#100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

True, but it's much easier to put sunscreen on my ears than on my head (my hair isn't that thin yet!)

On of the benefits of shaving your head! Easy sunscreen application.
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