Fedora on a night out?

[qwerty]

Fedora lounge seems to be a place for mostly people in their 30's and 40's but I still think you can answer this. Do you wear a hat when you go out.
Here are couple of problems.
First: What do you do if the bar where you go out has no rack for hats and no place where you could leave it? Do you just place it on the counter/table or do you continue wearing it?
Second: What happens when the night continues and you go on a party? Do you leave the hat in your car, or do you bring it with you, or maybe something else?
I am generaly interested in this becouse I never saw anybody in a night out wearing a fedora. Are hats restricted for a daylight?

 

[TommySalieri]

I'm one of members in his early 20's. I never go out without a lid on my head.

There's a simple solution to your problem: Keep it on your head or place it on your lap. Try not to put it on a table or somewhere where it could be sat on or stolen. Always keep it within arms reach of yourself. If you have a special someone who's willing to carry it for you, then by all means, take her up on her offer!

But then again, I'm from the big city. You always have to be watching your back out here.

 

[Matthew Dalton]

If you're at the bar I believe it's acceptable keep wearing it. If you're at a table perhaps get an extra chair and place it there or leave it in the car?

 

[Phobic]

I usually just keep my hat on. If I'm at a restaurant I'll take my hat off, keeping it in my lap, or hanging it off the back of my chair if it's the right kind of chair. I think so few people see or know about fedoras these days that you can generally do as you please. As for parties, the hat is a must. It acts as my barometer for how the night is going.

 

[shoeshineboy]

we need to carry one of those suction cups things that has a hook on it...so when you look around and there is no hat rack or a place for your hat...stick the thing to the window and hang your hat....that'll get thier attention...

and if that doesn't work...by buddy Gramps (has a wonderful knife/shaving story) would pull out his 6 inch hunting knife and stick it in the wall...that'll get thier attention, too...

perhaps if enough of us will do that maybe...that will get the hat rack back or we'll all be in jail !!!

mark the shoeshine boy

 

[johnnycanuck]

The rule I try to abide by is if you are in an intimate setting with a woman, or in a private residence you remove your hat. Public areas and large gathering are fair game. For example in malls and department stores I keep my hat on but a small shop I take my hat off. In a restaurant I take my hat off (intimate dining) in a bar I do not. Now if I was having a one on one conversation with a woman in a bar I would take my hat off unless she asked me to put it back on. In an elevator if there is a woman I take my hat off, if it is just guys I keep it on. I don't want a guy to think I am treating him like a woman. Besides when I wear a hat out on the town I am trying to get noticed (no point in a hat without the sun) so it does you no good not wearing it. As for what to do with it when you take it off I usually put it under my chair unless the floor is really dirty. But if you are out for the evening I found I had enough women asking to wear it anyway.
Johnny

 

[Joel Tunnah]

...I usually put it under my chair...

I liked everything up to that point!

Joel

 

[johnnycanuck]

Joel
Its when I sit down to eat I put my hat under my chair. If I eat out its usually Mid to high end restaurants. So they are clean and carpeted. I try to get a booth so I can put the hat beside me but sometimes that's not an option. In fact most restaurants have coat hooks I can use for my hat. As for fast food places I just use a chair, or just eat in my car. Its not that scary or done that often. Besides I usually wear Akubra's, they can take whatever I throw at them.
Johnny

 

[Atomic Glee]

I wear either my panama or my Federation (usually the Fed, as I'm trying to break it in nicely), well, *everywhere.* I think my friends and family would worry if they didn't see me with one.

What I do with it depends on the place and situation. If I'm seated at a bar, I leave it on - the only times I'm ever seated at a bar, really, are the sushi bar at Piranha Killer Sushi, or the counter at the Four Star Coffee Bar. If it's a sit-down situation, I let my instincts be my guide, but I normally take it off provided there's some place safe to put it. In four-person booths, I usually take it off and place it next to me - if all four seats are taken, my girlfriend is usually sitting beside me, and I'll put my hat on top of her purse, which she puts next to her. In really big, curved booths, I'll either use an empty space or the little "shelf" that surrounds it. In chairs, I'll typically put it below my chair, provided that either A) the chair has some bars between the legs that keep it off the floor, or B) that the floor is clean. Otherwise, I'll put it wherever is convenient. In some company, I'll leave it on.

Confused yet?

 

[Havana]

My hat gets a seat of its own. If there's no room, it stays on my head or on my knee if I'm with a lady.

 

[Magus]

Well...I'm in my 40's...but I wear a hat anytime I go out. Since people don't wear "real" hats anymore the rules and social structures regarding them are not quit as strict as in years gone by.

So....if the vibe is more of a loose fun evening at a bar or casual restaurant...I keep it on or take it off at my own whim. When I do it goes the seatback or dividers between tables...most places with booths have those. If not then on the table by the condments. In a more formal setting /restaurant the hat comes off when I walk in the door. The placment of it remains basically the same.

At parties I hold to the same structure. We went to a 4th party and I never took my hat off. In or out of doors. it was shorts and hawaian shirts type of thing.

M

 

[jake_fink]

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=5943&highlight=restaurtants+bars

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=2550&highlight=restaurtants+bars

 

[ortega76]

My wife and I go out pretty frequently, or I go out with my friends. If at a bar, the lid stays on. It's too crowded and chaotic to mess with putting it somewhere. Besides, as some have pointed out, it's an attention getter. Even though I'm married being noticed is something desirable (notice from the bartender, at least). The hat gets the bartender's notice and I get served faster. That plus a nice tip means that I don't have to rubberneck for 10 minutes to get my next drink.

In a nicer restaurant, I put it on the seat next to me. Or hang it from a coat peg. If I do eat at a cafe or fast food place, it stays on my head or in the car.

 

[Dinerman]

I always wear mine out. Everywhere.
It just depends on the occasion as to what hat I wear.
Usually, I find somewhere to hang it. If I don't, I just rest it on my knee.
The coolest thing I've seen was at a very old waffle place in the district of Colombia. There was a hat shelf running under the counter. Needless to say, I used it.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Now if I was having a one on one conversation with a woman in a bar I would take my hat off unless she asked me to put it back on.

In the same situation, I'd leave my hat on. To each his own

.

 

[adamgottschalk]

I'm 36 and go out frequently. When I first started wearing fedoras everyday (less than a year ago), this is a question that plagued me a little. Anymore, I've found that things just kind of flow in the right way for the circumstance. At my most frequent bar, there's nowhere to hang a hat (a coat rack just isn't good enough for me) so it stays on. There's also, no matter where you are, the thief factor. Once, I had my most precious vintage hat go missing from a hook in a bar. I was literally mortified, not knowing how I could possibly go on without it. Apparently some guy thought it was his girlfriend's hat (a likely story) and had put it in their car as they were getting ready to leave. He brought it right back to me, bringing me a sense of relief I haven't had in years; I simply don't take my hat off if there's any chance of that kind of thing happening. I liked the rule of thumb someone mentioned a while back: keep it on if it's a place like the Automat, a serve-yourself old-school diner (and echo things said in this thread about the importance of the "intimacy" factor); take it off at a table or with personal, one-on-one, intimate interactions, and I've found that just sort of feels natural and happens naturally. I have one friend who insists that I look into her eyes when I talk to her at the bar (otherwise referred to as the Office). Amazing how such a small effort can make a situation feel intimate; she forgets about the fly lid on my head when I've got her in my eyes. If/when I take my hat off, it's at someone's house for dinner or at a nice restaurant--and then I try and find a clean table/shelf/side table where I can lay a given hat with the front of the brim hanging over the edge of the table. At a busy, crowded party, I leave it on (especially if there's some indoor/outdoor aspect). I think the only time I've found when I actually feel weird wearing my lids is in my own house, sitting at my desk. I feel like I suddenly found myself wearing pajamas in public. Other than that, I just don't notice anymore; it comes off when it should.

 

[Absinthe_1900]

The coolest thing I've seen was at a very old waffle place in the district of Colombia. There was a hat shelf running under the counter. Needless to say, I used it.

There was a time when Booths in eating places had hat stands and coat hooks attached to them, another reason to look for vintage places to eat.

 

[Dinerman]

I see hat racks attached to booths all the time on my diner drives, but that was the first place I've ever seen a full length metal tray under the whole counter. Only thing I can think of, would be gum sticking to the crown of your hat.

 

[Dick Tracy]

I've learned to use my knee as a hat peg in crowded restaurants, if not an empty chair. I definitely wouldn't trust anyone with my hat. I do try to follow the basic rules of hat etiquette as I believe an adherence to such rules promulgates high self-esteem, morality, and respect. At least self-respect, since the majority of society has forgotten such virtues. It upsets me seeing baseball caps donned while at a restaurant table ... simply no manners. And manners are important.

Of course, now-a-days the hat--at least to me--is an enhancement to one's wardrobe instead of an extension (requirement) like back in the day, so while at bars and clubs you wouldn't want to dump it somewhere or carry it in your hands. You tip it when needed and Let the lid shine!

All right, I need my medication.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Of course, now-a-days the hat--at least to me--is an enhancement to one's wardrobe instead of an extension (requirement) like back in the day, so while at bars and clubs you wouldn't want to dump it somewhere or carry it in your hands. You tip it when needed and Let the lid shine!

Agreed! That's exactly why I won't take off my fedora when talking to a lady at a bar.

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