# Handkerchiefs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115 "2011-07-15T13:04:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Jaledin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jaledin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaledin)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/21 "2011-07-16T03:49:02Z")
So what do civilized “your people” do? Farmer’s blow into the street? Or a wadded piece of thin, weaved, disposable cotton, whose strands get caught in their nose/ear/chin-stubble hairs? Sanitation on the level you propose is a fallacy, I submit. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/22 "2011-07-16T03:58:50Z")
I haven’t seen anyone carry a real handkerchief since my childhood in the 1970’s. Some of my older relatives carried them. Especially working on the farm. They doubled as a sweat rag on hot summer days. I have several old handkerchiefs in my dresser drawer. If I get a cold, then I’ll sometimes carry one around for a few days. At the house I keep a roll of toilet paper by the bed and use that instead. I think my dad still has some handkerchiefs in his dresser too. But, I haven’t seen him use one in years. He prefers Kleenex when he gets a cold. When I have a cold, it doesn’t take long for a handkerchief to get pretty gross. Sort of hate putting it back in my pocket. Kleenex or toilet paper is better. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/23 "2011-07-16T04:08:40Z")
My dad has carried a hankie forever, as his father before him did. Mom always carried five lace ladies’ hankies, one for her and each of her daughters on the off chance that we end up somewhere needing emergency headgear (always possible pre-Vatican II). A pack of bobby pins were in the same compartment of her pocketbook. A pack of tissues were for nose blowing. I occasionally carry a small linen hankie (funerals and such), but go through tissues like crazy. ---
**Author:** ![anya\_marie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ebca7d/32.png) [@anya\_marie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anya_marie)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/24 "2011-07-16T09:05:29Z")
My mother always has tissues but my GRANDPA had the hankies and i have a couple of his. I’d like to know where you buy yours. Dollar General has some that are ok but i always take them out and redo the hems. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/25 "2011-07-16T09:33:11Z")
I always carry a bandanna style handkerchief, maybe two. My Dad has never carried a handkerchief. I use them for head covers when I’m wearing a hard hat, to blow my nose when I have a cold, and to wipe my ass when I have no TP. The TP ones stay in the woods (along with my shirt sleeve if I need an extra wipe). For the most part, the head cover ones and the nose blowing ones change position based on when they were washed last. I usually don’t put a snotty rad on my head. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/26 "2011-07-16T12:16:10Z")
> [@](#): > > I’d like to know where you buy yours. Dollar General has some that are ok but i always take them out and redo the hems. I get mine at Dollar General or Family Dollar, too. Sometimes I order them online, if I’m ordering other stuff and the place carries nice big 100% cotton hankies. I suppose I could make some out of muslin, if I wanted to take the trouble. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/27 "2011-07-16T14:23:19Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > I live in Japan, and carrying handkerchiefs is the norm, mainly to dry one’s hands after washing them in a public restroom. … > They also come in handy for placing on the lap during meals, wiping away the copious sweat of disgusting Tokyo summer heat, etc. I remember being told about the ubiquitous hanky by a Japanese man. The “handkerchief” carried around isn’t usually the big white or bandanna handkerchief you see here. Isn’t it generally a smaller, terrycloth affair? > [@missred](#): > > Mom always carried five lace ladies’ hankies, one for her and each of her daughters on the off chance that we end up somewhere needing emergency headgear (always possible pre-Vatican II). A pack of bobby pins were in the same compartment of her pocketbook. This is so sweet. 🙂 I remember always keeping my white lace “chapel cap” in its plastic case (with one white bobby pin) in my purse back in those days. Handkerchiefs make a lot of sense. Why don’t we use them much anymore? They’re certainly “greener” than all that tissue. Note: Please don’t limit comments to what I seemed to want/ask. Go far afield, by all means! 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ea5d25/32.png) [@No\_umlaut\_for\_U](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/No_umlaut_for_U)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/28 "2011-07-16T15:58:57Z")
Staph catchers. BAH! ---
**Author:** ![jeepus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeepus/32/3593_2.png) [@jeepus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jeepus)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/29 "2011-07-16T17:23:41Z")
My dad always kept a handkerchief in his front right pocket. His “town” hankies were usually plain white, but he had some patterned ones that he used when he was going to be out in the field (he was a farmer) and I often helped my Mom iron them. It was a nice easy kid job, iron a flat piece of fabric into flatness perfection, fold and iron them in half and in half again. I think he probably must have changed them out at least every day, maybe twice a day or more if there was more nasal action going on, going by the number of hankies that would be in the wash load. Yes, he used his handkerchief for blowing his nose, then stuffed that handkerchief right back into his pocket. I guess he got a new one if the thing got really soggy, but these were not little tissues, they were full sized working man hankies. They could handle holding on to a booger or two. Though people tend to shudder at the thought these days, I don’t see this as an especially nasty habit; it’s not like having a turd in your pocket. My Mom never carried a hankie much, she was a kleenex gal. However, she considered only using a kleenex one time as “wasteful.” My oldest brother, who is in his later 60s carries a hankie sometimes, but my younger-older brother, who is just turning 60 this year does not so far as I know. Oldest lives in a small town, where maybe it’s more accepted; younger-oldest lives in a city, where it’s probably not seen as being appropriate. I still have a few of Dad’s old hankies around, as a memory, but I don’t carry them around with me. Maybe I should start keeping one in my purse though. The idea of having something other than my shirt to dry my hands on in an bathroom with only electric blowers sounds good. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/30 "2011-07-16T20:19:49Z")
> [@jeepus](#): > > I often helped my Mom iron them. It was a nice easy kid job, iron a flat piece of fabric into flatness perfection, fold and iron them in half and in half again. I ironed my dad’s hankies, too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/31 "2011-07-17T02:08:45Z")
I always carry two hankies folded neatly. The one in the left pocket is for nose-wiping. The one in the right pocket is for sweat wiping. (The memory tool I use for this is how I remember port and starboard: There are four letters in port and left and snot. There are five points in a star(board) and five letters in right and sweat. Snot and sweat. That’s how I keep them apart. I also have a red bandana I keep in my backpack. Because if I’m taking my backpack out the door, I usually have errands to run, so that’s for big sweaty trips. My stepfather had a rag or bandana with him most of the time, but he was a mechanic so he usually just kiped an oil rag from work to ake care of the sweating. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/32 "2011-07-17T04:36:39Z")
My great-grandmother used to always have them on her person, and I know my dad had some during the late 70s/early 80s. He decided after that they’re gross, which is something I agree with, so I don’t own any myself. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/33 "2011-07-17T05:04:21Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I remember being told about the ubiquitous hanky by a Japanese man. The “handkerchief” carried around isn’t usually the big white or bandanna handkerchief you see here. Isn’t it generally a smaller, terrycloth affair? Yup! I’d forgotten until you mentioned it how huge bandanas/hankies can be. They’re usually much smaller than that here, and terrycloth is big now. They come in all sorts of materials/designs/colors, from Burberry prints to ersatz Burberry-print knockoffs to bejeweled to cheapie one-sided printed ones. I use nice absorbent terrycloth ones for everyday, and try to remember to use the nicer ones when going out to dinners with clients. It’s also always an easy gift. They cost around $10 or less, and no one can have too many. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/34 "2011-07-17T12:30:36Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > Yup! I’d forgotten until you mentioned it how huge bandanas/hankies can be. They’re usually much smaller than that here, and terrycloth is big now. > > They come in all sorts of materials/designs/colors, from Burberry prints to ersatz Burberry-print knockoffs to bejeweled to cheapie one-sided printed ones. I use nice absorbent terrycloth ones for everyday, and try to remember to use the nicer ones when going out to dinners with clients. > > It’s also always an easy gift. They cost around $10 or less, and no one can have too many. Is that $10 for just one? That seems high. Can you give a link where you can buy these? ---
**Author:** ![UntouchedTakeaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d78d45/32.png) [@UntouchedTakeaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UntouchedTakeaway)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/35 "2011-07-17T13:18:31Z")
Dad always had one - white with white monogram Mom, too - monogrammed, but they usually had lace trim, and the trim was sometimes colored. I carry one, too - I find vintage (un-honked on ones 😃 ) on eBay with my monogram. UT ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/36 "2011-07-17T15:38:57Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Is that $10 for just one? That seems high. Can you give a link where you can buy these? I live in Japan, and just buy them at department stores here. I’ve never bothered to look on-line, though I’d be happy to if you’d like. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/37 "2011-07-17T16:04:16Z")
Yes, please, if you don’t mind. I’m curious. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/38 "2011-07-17T16:16:48Z")
I’m male and I have carried a handkerchief from at least the first grade to present; when I dress in the mornings it’s the second thing I put in my pocket. My father carried a handkerchief all his life. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/39 "2011-07-17T18:27:31Z")
A fun place to shop for hankies and other old-timey stuff from [candy](http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/Brands-From-The-Past/Candy.html)to the wall-mounted [Swing-A-Way can opener](http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/store/Brands-From-The-Past/Household-Cleaning/Wall-Mount-Can-Opener.html?evar3=browse) is [Vermont Country Store](http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/Shop;jsessionid=AE990D3E64B672F55BA45DCC3F350C13?dsp=30000&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Ntk=primary&Nty=0&keywordsearch=true&x=0&y=0&keyword=handkerchief). They have[Tangee Lipstick](http://www.vermontcountrystore.com/products/beauty/makeup-products/tangee-lipstick.html), a truly weird item that was one of my first lipsticks (ca. 1960). Hehe. I’m noting that the Tangee Lipstick is 14.95. I'm guessing it was around .50 when I bought it. It does NOT look like in the pictures, if memory serves. It _stains_ your lips in an unpredictable way. I can still remember the way it smells… very nice. [/digression] ---
**Author:** ![lshaw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e36b37/32.png) [@lshaw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lshaw)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115/40 "2011-07-18T02:50:02Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > At first you seemed to be only really interested in guy responses, but then you mentioned a slight interest in women who carry, so I decided to drop in. > > I live in Japan, and carrying handkerchiefs is the norm, mainly to dry one’s hands after washing them in a public restroom. While hand dryers and/or paper towels are usually provided nowadays, thanks to the recent nuclear plant bust, we’re rationing electricity here and many places have pulled the plug on hand dryers/not bothered to refill the paper towel dispensers. > > They also come in handy for placing on the lap during meals, wiping away the copious sweat of disgusting Tokyo summer heat, etc. Yeah, I never bothered with handkerchiefs until I came to Japan. I mean, it’s not only because of the reasons you have mentioned, but also because they are just so darn readily available in all sort of prints and textures and whatnot. My Japanese friends have some very pretty looking ones, but I don’t really care too much about that. I currently carry two around - an inexpensive one from Daiso and a more towel-like one with Totoro on it. 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/handkerchiefs/589115.md?page=3)