Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-01-17

A Broadway Halter Talks Interestingly on
the Subject.


A Broadway Halter Talks interestingly o,
the Subject.
| From the New York Sun.
"The soft hat is having a run that il has no,
enjoyed for years." said a Broadway halter
yesterday. 1t did not take long for the styl,
to commend itself to wearers of soft hats. Their
stiff users heard so much about the new ha
that they gave it a trial. They found. wha
city people are coming to find out, that a sof,
hat is better adapted to the needs Of city lif,
than to those of the country. Take one in
stance only. We spend great deal of our time
in street cars. A skillful conserver of vital en-
ergy will use every chance in the city's rush to
snatch moments Of rest. Now, suppose you live
above the ffties. II you get a seat on the L
you can rest your head on the side Of the car
close your eyes and have nice snooze till the
guard calls your station. Hundreds of New
Workers have SO trained themselves that they
can sleep till the guard calls their station. The
call acts like an alarm clock and they are awake
in an instant.
'You can sleep thus comfortably. provided
you have soft hat. There are two reasons for
this First, the soft hat dusts itself to the head
az you lean against the side and acts as a sort
Of pillow, taking up the vibration of the car
or course. the stiff hat, silk or derby, never
does Always stiff a board, it is on the point
of falling off whenever you incline your head
Second, you can shade your eyes with the soft
hat bv turning down the rim. Thus, mat
ter what position you may be in relatively to
the light, you can always avoid the glare. To
do this with derby Won must be an expert bal
ANGER to hold it on the end of your nose as you
tilt it forward.
But not only in sleeping is the soft hat SUI
perior. In the city one often finds oneself hat
in hand in large gatherings, such receptions
to public men, Then it is that the stiff hat suf-
fers. The slightest blow may damage it per-
manently. while no such injury can come TO a
soft hat. 1t can go through the worst crush
practically unframed.
Another thing: Men are finding ont that the
soft hat is better for the hair. Instead of
binding the veins and arteries on the side of the
head that supply blood for the hair like the stiff
hat with its solid edge, the soft hat exerts no
binding pressure anywhere on the head. The
blood thus flows freely and falling hair and a
hot, dry scalp are avoided.
The artistic feeling has, too, much to do with
this growing demand for soft hats People are
coming to see that the lines and curves of a soft
hat are more pleasing than those of a stiff one.
Why, can take a soft hat and by turning the rim
a little or indenting the crown. or vice versa
can change my appearance almost to the extent
OF disguise. This adaptabiitv of the soft hat is
what is making it popular. If on putting on your
hat at the hall rack mirror before going out you
think deep crease in the top would become
you better that day you can make it. OF if you
wish one side lower than the other or in one
Of many other ways wish y conform the out
line to your mood, you have but to make
touch here and there. Such changes are not
possible with the stiffs, and that is whv wearers
tire OF them so easily. Take bnt one example.
How would stiff hat become Buffalo Bills
flowing hair and free-and-easy makeup? His
whole appearance would be spoiled by the stiff
lines of a derby. Now, there are hundreds of
men to whose looks soft hat is specially
adapted, not so markedly. perhaps, as in Cody
case, but still to marked extent
soft hats are no longer what they used to
be- citifed reproduction of a rural pc