Hats - tilt to left or right?

silvershadow · Dec 27, 2007

As you can see in my photograph, I wear my hats (Hombergs, Fedoras, Bowlers and Top Hats) tilted to my left ear. However in many films and photos, I see them tilted the other way. I can't stand hats straight on (like my Hatter tries to put them on me), nor can I wear them to the right. I thought I was alone in being a "leftie", however was gladdened to see Edward G. Robinson wearing his to the left as well in some films. How do you guys wear them? Is there a protocol for left or right!?

Mike in Seattle · Dec 27, 2007

I think it's personal preference, whatever the wearer is comfortable with or feels they look best with.

Tomasso · Dec 27, 2007

If I were to pose for a photo, then to the right but in the real world my hat gets adjusted in all directions, on a regular basis; usually due to wind, sun or general fidgetyness.

Baron Kurtz · Dec 27, 2007

I don't pay attention to it. Sometimes tilt left, sometimes straight, sometimes tilt right. Most often at windmills.

bk

pgoat · Dec 27, 2007

There was just another thread hereabouts on hat tilt.

This may sound dumb but I think it relates to hair part for me. As a boy I always noticed most people have their hair parted on the left side, while mine was always on the right, which consequently made any longish bangs fall lower over my left eye. My mother said this was done because my hair 'grew' that way, and indeed, even now that there's less of it up there, you can clearly see the swirly starting point of a part on the right side of my noggin.

For me, tilting my hats to conform to that slope always felt natural. Regardless of why one does it, I reckon what feels good or natural will dictate how one tilts, more than what you like seeing in a mirror.

dundeedavie · Dec 27, 2007

always left for me , just seems natural for me

tinmanzzz · Dec 27, 2007

Dress Left or Right ???

Do you Dress Left or Right??

(OR just let them hang in the breeze ??)

What I'm trying to say is there is no correct way, only YOUR WAY !!!!!

LEUII · Dec 27, 2007

Perhaps one reason for the preponderance of hat tilt being to the right is that most people put on a hat with their right hand.

pgoat · Dec 27, 2007

LEUII said:
Perhaps one reason for the preponderance of hat tilt being to the right is that most people put on a hat with their right hand.

ahhh..........another good point.

SinatraStyle · Dec 27, 2007

I tilt my hats over my right eye. I'm not sure why. It may be because I am right handed, or because it is the hand I use to tip my hat when greeting a lady.

anon` · Dec 27, 2007

I'm with Tomasso on this one, but I've recently taken to wearing my hats tilted left as a "neutral" stance, and it primarily stems from my summertime commute home: west into the sunset. The leftish tilt makes for a wonderfully effective sunblock so that I can actually see where I'm going.

But to echo what's already been said, it all boils down to personal preference in the end, I think.

duggap · Dec 27, 2007

The tilt depends on how much I have had to drink.:eusa_doh: Just kidding, I wear my hats straight away. I guess I just can't get that military training out of me.

HungaryTom · Dec 27, 2007

Asymetry

I tilt my hats to the right - the left half of my face is smaller than the right one.

I don't know whether there is an instinctive decision about this fact with each of us the direction of tilting and the individual facial asymetry[huh]

It is anyway just a habit that can be changed.

Tom

Rooster · Dec 27, 2007

Comes from the military standard of carrying your rifle on your left shoulder, hats tilt to the right away from the gun. Look at military berets, aussie campaign hats, etc....

AdmiralTofu · Dec 27, 2007

I tip mine to the left, although not drastically. And not over my eyes, either -- I tend to wear my hat fairly far back on my head -- just forward enough not to let the front of my hair peek out from under the hat.

I first started tipping left to emulate Jack Webb -- I'm planning to produce (and star in) a low-budget "Dragnet" fan film, and for some reason I've gotten a little anal about reproducing how he handled his hat (although, oddly, I'm taking a few liberties with other, arguably more important, aspects of the property! lol ). But that's off-topic, and for another discussion. Anyway, what started as me being an anal-retentive wannabe filmmaker turned into something that's become natural for me. It just feels better tipped to the left, for some reason. It had never felt right perfectly level (too "perfect," like a clip-on tie), and it was just plain awkward worn to the right. Maybe my head is lopsided...

Oddly enough, I'm right handed, as I mentioned in the other "tilt" thread. So, I'm finding myself having to learn how to don my hat with my left hand, because doing it with the right, I have to fiddle with it afterward, and that just does not look confident or cool.

-Tofu

Alon · Dec 27, 2007

If you watch the Jeeves & Wooster TV series with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Frye, notice how Wooster wears his fedoras. He always wears them straight and looks great.

Nonetheless, I always wear mine tipped to the right. The smaller the brim the more I tilt.

HamletJSD · Dec 27, 2007

I tilt functionally ...

Most often for sun blockage and most often when driving ... so in the U.S. I tilt to my left side. I am sure if I were to live in or visit a country where driving occurred from the other side, I would have occasion to tilt the other way

TimmyBoston · Dec 28, 2007

I tilt mine to the left, it looks much better on me.

silvershadow · Dec 28, 2007

great!

Thanks for the posts - now I don't feel so alone anymore!

Pilgrim · Dec 29, 2007

Every time I settle a hat on my head, I remember one line from the song "Style" (You've Either Got Or You Haven't Got Style) from the movie Robin and the Seven Hoods, a classic of the Rat Pack.

"...a hat's not a hat till it's - tilted...."

Check it here. This song should be the anthem of the FL.

And I tilt mine a bit to the right.

Hats - tilt to left or right?

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