The Comeback of the Hat

A hatless JFK at his inauguration. Note men in hats behind himMen’s hats bit the dust in the 1960’s when a young John Kennedy brought a sense of youth and vibrancy to the White House along with an absence of hats. Kennedy didn’t wear them. In fact he was hatless at his own inauguration— an icon of youth and hope in a sea of hatted old men. That did it for mens hats. It was a generational marker. Old men wore hats. Young men did not.

Women’s hats too,other than for very formal occasions were swept away in a sea of mini-skirts, boots, hot pants and bell bottoms. Baby boomers coming of age were into peace and Woodstock and new roles for both men and women.Hats for women were out— along with white cotton gloves, girdles and stiletto heels. Fashion was all about freedom and gender equality. Both men and women went bare headed for more than a generation.

Hippies

But, as usual, everything old is new again. The firebrands of yesteryear are today’s hatless  and ponytailed greybeards. What could be more natural than that their children and grandchildren, coming of age in the twenty first century, should re-discover hats and make them their own.

Bradd Pitt loves Fedoras

Ashley, Lindsey, and Paris strut their stuff in hats

From Lady Gaga to Justin Bieber and beyond,  hats are back. From hoodies and caps to fascinators and fedoras.  Both sexes are bringing a youthful vigor to hats and the hat trade.  Hats are back for every occasion.  Worn with panache and humor, they are fast becoming the signature of a new generation.

Just one more thing to celebrate about Generation Y-- Applause please.