One sometimes reads outraged posts by flustered gentlemen about etiquette. What is invariably funny is that such heated debate and division is only ever caused because, basically, nobody cares. If etiquette was still current, it would be enforced by social acceptability and nobody would be discussing what the rules are.
When talking about hats and whether you are allowed to keep them indoors, some people are adamant: you may only keep them in railway stations and on the bus.
Otherwise, the hat should be off.Lifting your hat to say hello used to be a common gesture. It applied when people wore hats, when people greeted each other in the street, when social hierarchy required that you took off your hat when talking to a superior (and bowed your head). It was a time when it was improper not to wear a hat. A time when everybody owned several hats.
Now that it all went out of the window, it does not make any sense to cling to the antiquated rules that governed interpersonal behaviour. And if you do, you should be ready to acknowledge that not everybody follows the same rules. Try and show how well-educated you are by kissing a lady’s hand to greet her and see how it goes down. There is something quaint and possibly satisfying in following rules that nobody knows about any more but it’s hardly worth feeling smug about it.
Now that being said, I would definitely object to wearing a hat indoors. Because since cold rain and wind are not going to be something against which you need protection, keeping your hat indoors means you’re just showing off. You’re flaunting your hat because nobody wears a hat anymore and it has become a statement of personal style. Wearing it against practicality simply sets off the stylistic effort in an overly conspicuous way. And that’s something you might as well avoid. For the sake of elegance— not of etiquette.
Zampa di Gallina’s pop up store in Paris, with its proud founder presenting a large selection of Omega pecari and carpincho gloves, Calabrese scarves, Talarico umbrellas…