Well, since we’re spectulating, I’m going with autos too. In addition to the smaller car/less headroom phenomenon mentioned by TV Time, you have the introduction of car seats with the anti-whiplash head rest, which makes wearing a fully brimmed hat impossible. Additionally, if you aren’t walking outdoors, there is no practical need for a hat (rain and sun protection, and warmth). When driving from garage to garage a hat merely gets in the way.
It is interesting to note that Kennedy, is frozen in time as a young man. But he was born in 1919! His wearing of a top hat at his inauguration is a somewhat jarring indicator of how far removed in time he was from today.
We had a guy at work who once wore a black fedora and matching black raincoat. He’s bald and kind of pale.
Basically he stopped after spending the day listening to comments like “Geeve us ze Arc, Dr. Jones!”
The real question is when did colonial style 3 pointed hats and wigs go out of style?
Swells?
According to Merriam-Webster online –
If I’m ever elected president, I’m going to wear a tricorn at my inauguration.
But panache45 did not make the claim that Kennedy did not wear a hat at his inauguration, which is what that Snopes article refutes. panache45 said that JFK went around without a hat, which is true.
While Snopes is correct that the hatless trend was already in progress when JFK took office, they underestimate the effect that the most photographed man in America may have had on furthering the hatless trend.
It should be obvious by now that I didn’t click on the Snopes link until after my first post. By now, you have read my second, crow-eating post. I won’t apologize again, but I can add a :smack:
Yes, I also found the Snopes article to be so weak that we would be jumping all over it if anyone posted it here.
Kennedy’s wearing a hat at his inaugural is a lot less meaningful when you read the page carefully and realize that he was not wearing the hat while he was delivering his inaugural address! That’s when everyone would have been most closely watching him. Saying that Kennedy went hatless at his inauguration, as in the quotes they cite, may not be technically correct, but is an understandable memory/shorthand for his going hatless during the most visible part of the whole ceremony.
Me personally, I’d like to see those statistics. I think it far more likely that while there may have been a dip during the Eisenhower administration, the big dropoff took place during Kennedy’s - and it might not have happened if Kennedy had worn hats regularly.
And BrotherCadfael, it’s worse than you think. Kennedy was born in 1917.
Alright, since you brought it up I’ll tell my story.
This is on of the last great failed conspiracies of the 20th century.
I used to go out with a jewish girl who’s parent’s were big in the garment industry in NYC. One day at a family dinner, her uncle Morey took me aside after a few too many glasses of Mogen David. He told me of their plan, thru his connections with jewish media mogul’s (who he was convinced controlled the minds of America) to Revive the Fedora. Literally change the face or the head, as it were, of America. There were millions put up to produce a movie that would convince the American male that he was naked without a hat. That movie “Indiana Jones” was a huge hit. Morey spent millions ramping up production. He went broke when the only thing the kids bought were baseball caps, no fedoras.
He was philosophical about it though. He used to say you can lead 20 million goyim into the theater but you can’t make them want to buy a fine felt hat. “Hey, the movie was old testament!” he’d say…
I have always believed that JFK wasn’t snuffed by the Mob or the Cubans… he was killed by the Milliners. I mean, come on… it’s so obvious. Unfortunately, they were too late.
Well I am trying to revive top hats. The again I also tend to wear tails and a lace cravat and cuffs, so I do not think I will have a huge effect
If Mayor Willie Brown (San Francisco) couldn’t bring back hats, nothing can. Word is that he tried to compel city employees to wear hats, but got shouted down.
Most of those guys in the old days wore ties, too, but ties are now generally worn by those who have to wear them. Generally.
George Zimmer’s behind this thread. Aren’t you, you sneaky sucker? 
I guarantee it.
Peace,
mangeorge
Hat guns.
Another Amrican tragedy. 
Hat guns.
Another American tragedy.
Nothing!
Here in Minnesota, with winter coming on, I can assure you they are alive & well.
And none of Amp’s nonsense about “coordinating” with other clothing applies here, either!
What killed hats in late 20th century America? The answer is obvious: hat people. I used to think it was hat guns, but I have since been convinced that guns don’t kill, people do.
Clothing generally has gotten a lot simpler over the last 100 years, likely due to improved manufacturing and synthetic fibers. Consider the corsets and garters and buttonhooks and suspenders and shirtfronts and collar stays and all the other junk a well-dressed 19th-century person needed. As part of this general streamlining, (mostly) useless items like hats have fallen away and I expect neckties will gradually follow.
I think the disappearance of hats goes hand-in-hand with the gradual disappearance of formal wear. That is, when I was a kid, jackets, ties and hats were considered standard attire for all kinds of functions and activities that NOBODY would dress formally for today.
When I was little, taking a ride on an airplane was a Very Big Deal, and my Mom made sure my brothers and I wore little suits and ties when we travelled. NOBODY would dream of dressing up to fly, nowadays.
Similarly, going to a baseball game used to be a Very Big Deal. If you ever see old footage of the 1969 World Series, you’ll note that practically all the men in the stands were wearing jackets, ties and hats!
So, while JFK may have hastened the demise of hats, most men still wore hats at what they considered special occasions. What’s changed is that we’ve drastically shrunk the list of what we consider special occasions.
I agree with the car theory and the informality theory. And now that hats are out of style, I’ve wondered where men and women could put their hats, if they wore them, when they’re inside a public place? Fast food places, etc. don’t have coatrooms where you can safely put your hat on a shelf. So now it’s just too inconvenient to wear them around.