Where do you hang your hat?

Maduma said:

The hook swivels on the axis parallel to the flat part of the clip though I am looking to put it into a vice and turn it 90 degrees at the top to hang better on a chair. As it is now it is perfect to hang on a coat hook.

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Seems like the majority of restaurants I visit don't even have coat racks any more. I do get a kick on my occasional visits to a Cracker Barrel, as they often have an old brass hat and coat rack in one area as one of their "props" for atmosphere. If I'm seated near enough to keep an eye on it, I make use of it.

Though I am all for proper etiquette, I will admit to having taken to simply wearing my hat in some restaurants, if no suitable place to place it is available (the ball cap wearers are often present wearing theirs). And yes, I've seen the scene from the Sopranos (and removed my lid on a recent visit to a Soprano's themed restaurant in Sandusky remembering it ).

That hook would be much more workable if it rotated. Not sure about carrying one around (have to try it I suppose to be sure).

Hat Clip in action with two hats

Testet out the hat clip hanger in a restaurant here in San Pedro de Alcantara, Marbella, Spain. It worked well with two hats!!

Excellent, Maduma!

I modified a clip so I could carry it in my pocket.
First I did NOT have a rubberized clip handy so I took one of my regular clips. Held it open with a vise grip. Cut 2 pieces of self adhesive foam strips that come with some hats.

Stuck each piece on insides of clip so would not damage the felt

Lastly cut a length of rawhide shoestring and tied it into a loop. Placed loop through clip holder.
All folds up into pocket. Can hang from back seat hanger behind drivers seat in my car

. Or in a restaurant form a loop and go thu hole in chair or on back.

Works great

If I knew how to post a picture I would. Worked great at a restaurant for Moms day today. Grandson said it was " ingenious ." Coming from a 13 year old sitting across the table with a straw fedora on. We took a picture together as I was wearing a vintage Stetson Open Road. He remarked we were the 2 "coolist" guys in the restaurant.
I'm beginning to like that kid!

Macbeth, I do believe your grandson is right. I like your idea.

Another hat hook saga

Hi folks. Back in the lounge again after a fairly lengthy absence. In the meantime my collection has grown a little but it is still very modest – some Akubras from across the ditch and a few local New Zealand made hats from Hills Hats. Fedora style hats are rarely seen here apart from the usual selection of cheap stingy brims aimed mostly at the younger set. It’s amazing how many more mature guys, who would otherwise present as self confident types, are nervous about wearing a fedora, though the idea appeals to them.

A corollary to this is the almost complete lack of hat hooks etc when out and about – a subject not new to this forum. After a recent incident when the hat under my cafe seat was kicked by a waiter then promptly stood on by a passing patron I began the search for a solution. It has become something of an obsession.

I usually put the hat on a chair beside me, but often that is not available. Sticking it over a knee is fine if they aren’t jammed up under the table, which mine usually are. Putting on the table is asking for trouble, apart from being on the rude side. You can leave it on your swede but that also goes against the grain, though it’s better than it becoming a football.
So this points to some carry-along device to secure the hat.

Penman’s portable hat hook (discussed in previous threads) seems like a robust and efficient solution but I was looking for something a little smaller that allowed me to hang the hat over the table edge. There are hand bag hooks available but they don't really allow for anything but a stingy brim. So I made a little thing out of coat hanger wire, heat shrink, and a plastic suction cap. Works well enough as long as the table surface is suitable. But it’s still a bit lengthy at about 5 inches.
After for something more elegant I made a hinged wooden version. It's a bit shorter at under 4 inches but still a bit bulky. It works pretty well but still needs a good surface for the cup to grip to.

Then by chance I had a small polyester shopping bag scrunched up in a pocket. Wanting to keep the hat safe and clean at a rather grimy cafe I shoved it into the bag and hung it on the corner of the seat back. It is still a bit of a conundrum but it seems that the options with this little bag are considerable.

For some reason I can't see your pictures. The problem could be on my end but I usually don't have a problem with viewing pictures.

Like you, I always have a problem finding somewhere to put my hat at a restaurant. I usually end up putting it on a vacant seat but that always makes me nervous that someone is going to spill something on it. Then last week my girlfriend and I were having dinner at a new Mexican restaurant that specializes in cabrito slow cooked over mesquite. This is not your typical Mexican restaurant and is what I would consider to be a pretty fancy place. As soon as I sat down I started looking around for some place to put my hat. I guess the manager saw me and brought over a short hat rack that he placed next to me. It was probably about 4' tall and had 4 hooks on it. I had never seen that before and thought it was pretty cool. Apparently the manager was a hat guy and knew immediately what I was looking for. They actually had a bunch of these short racks. He said that they are mostly used for women's purses but were actually made for hats. I wish more restaurants would have these.

Fortunately for us Landman there is still a little bit of a hat culture here in Texas. That restaurant owner is after our hearts!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/sp6u5qr77bleuf5/Wire-hook.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fsvk4n3wt3irgnw/Wood-hook-folded.jpg

https://www.dropbox.com/s/k23ofc6o3ipfcmh/Wood-hook-open.jpg

It looks like a fine prototype, but it doesn't look like something I would wish for in my pocket. Smart-phone, keys, etc. is more than enough dead-weight for me

Rogera said:

Fortunately for us Landman there is still a little bit of a hat culture here in Texas. That restaurant owner is after our hearts!

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I see these quite often in restaurants that have a clue:



Civility is only mostly dead.

Unless it is a high end restaurant, at this point, I say to heck with "etiquette" and I'll just WEAR the hat while I eat. No one knows what hat etiquette is anyway.

fedoracentric said:

Unless it is a high end restaurant, at this point, I say to heck with "etiquette" and I'll just WEAR the hat while I eat. No one knows what hat etiquette is anyway.

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Must....not...take...bait...

Hat Hanger is handy...works with fedora width brims as well as my westerns...
http://www.nrsworld.com/hat-hanger/cowboy-hat-hanger-3902

fedoracentric said:

Unless it is a high end restaurant, at this point, I say to heck with "etiquette" and I'll just WEAR the hat while I eat. No one knows what hat etiquette is anyway.

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I'm finding myself move more and more in that direction (the present and future ). What the heck ... I dumped my powdered wick many years ago lol

Dean : I bought one of those from Mike Moore, when I visited the shop in March. It's great, but not something to wear in your pocket, when going out to eat

gtdean48 said:

Hat Hanger is handy...works with fedora width brims as well as my westerns...
http://www.nrsworld.com/hat-hanger/cowboy-hat-hanger-3902

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I have one of those in my office.

fedoracentric said:

Unless it is a high end restaurant, at this point, I say to heck with "etiquette" and I'll just WEAR the hat while I eat. No one knows what hat etiquette is anyway.

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In the city I live in, getting dressed nice apparently entails a newer Alabama, Auburn, or NASCAR T-shirt, or maybe even a polo shirt if the place is reeeally high class. Throw in a few pairs of shorts and some flip-flops, and instantly I no longer care what opinion any of the diners hold of me wearing my hat at the table.

dh66 said:

.... and instantly I no longer care what opinion any of the diners hold of me wearing my hat at the table.

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My guess is not a one of them even know to look at you askance for wearing your hat while you eat. They have no idea that doing so used to be thought of as gauche.

fedoracentric said:

Unless it is a high end restaurant, at this point, I say to heck with "etiquette" and I'll just WEAR the hat while I eat. No one knows what hat etiquette is anyway.

Click to expand...

At least a part of hat etiquette is not lost in Portugal.
My parents don't let me sit at the table with a hat on my head in their house or when I go to a restaurant with them.
When I'm alone that's another story, I even cook with my hat on most of the times.
When I'm at my friends house, I remove my hat at the table, but when I go to a fast food restaurant I'll not remove it.

Don't fart in a restaurant! Don't have screaming arguments in a restaurant. Don't have loud phone-conversations in a restaurant. Don't throw the empty glass over your shoulder in a restaurant. That will all be annoying to other guests.

Take off your hat in a restaurant - if you like. Wear a tie in a restaurant - if you like. None of that should be annoying to other guests - whether you do or don't.

Some good manners were taught to us, because "else, the others will find you strange and won't like you". Other good manners were taught to us, because "else, you may harm others in some way".

Some good manners are important to others, while some are primarily important to yourself (and your mother). Too many people have bad manners, that are truely harmful to others. I would be happy, if those areas got a little more attention. Please do enjoy your beans with your hat on, as you chew on that

Throwing the Baby out With the Bath Water

There is another Thread on the Forum about Hat etiquette ,but in regards to the " in a restaurant " hat wearing , I recently went to wedding and I was in a suit and fedora and of course even though this was held in a big casino here ,of course there were no hat hooks , so I just put the hat on the table in front of my plate .

No one chastised me for doing it and it was better than on the floor but because men no longer wear hats as a rule , hat and coat check rooms are a thing of the past and also gone are the "hat check girl " as well.

I will never lower myself to my audience just because they might not know any better.
What the real problem here is that as a nation we have lost all sense of " class" .
Now a days anything goes and business could care less about what you wear in their business as long as you bring your wallet, sad really .

All the Best ,Fashion Frank