Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-23

l NJ -
w. down town, and that
tho first words said to him were, Where
did YOU get it?' Ordinarily. he would sup
pose that the inquiry had reference to
certain reckless, merry look that is sup
posed to belong to the person who obvious
ly has an incipient jag on" but as the
hour was too early for that. he concluded
that there was something in his appear
ance a little out of the common run.
Where did get what?' he asked.
''Why, that hat" said his friend.
He was wearing fine straw hat with
ribbon of bright stripes about It,
What's the matter with the hatr' he
said
'Oh. nothing: only how many others have
He had not thought about It, but later.
as he walked down Broadway. he noticed
that no other man wore straw hat, and
when he went up on 9th avenue In the
afternoon the same condition Of affairs
prevailed. He was almost alone in New
York with his straw hat. Since he had no
other hat with him he was compelled to
ur dergo considerable ridcule. which he &C.
cepted philosophically. merely remarking to
everyone who asked about the hat that
straw hats were almost universally worn
In Washington, and consequently must be
the correct style. and here he was doubt
less right. for New York is now doing the
very thing that 1t laughed at the Wash
ingtonian for doing week ago.
when to Put on q Straw.
There Is something about the straw hat
and when to put 1t on that is hard to de-
termine. but with US the general rule seems
to be to put it on as soon as the weather
makes it comfortable thing to wear.
whereas the New Workers., who are less
Independent than We are. use II not when
the weather demands II SO much as when a
certain unwritten law declares II is the
style.
The writer remembers very we'll how a
gentleman living in Louisiana, leaving the
city the first day Of April. journeyed north
ward In the same clothes that he had
worn In New Orleans. In all respects he
was not appropriately clad, except in the
matter Of his hat which was a fine affair
OF white straw with a good big generous
orim 1t was very comfortable thing
when he started out. and when he reached
Washington, while II was unique and had
hardly any companions, 1t still was merely
a little in advance of the season; but when
he arrived in New York and walked into
the hotel where he always stopped the
clerk behind the counter could not re-
strain himself, but burst out laughing
It's the hat!' he exclaimed, tits the
hat! What on earth are you doing wearing
a straw hat in New York before the mid
die OF June?'
The southerner went out forthwith and
bought black hat, and now, whenever
he goes travelling in the spring Of the year.
the first thing he thinks Of is the propriety
of his hat.
Importance of the Hat.
What is the most important part of
mankind's apparel?" the writer once asked
Of social philosopher Of great experience
The hat" he answered without hesita-
ton. and he proceeded to explain.
He said when you want to court a mans
acquaintance you touch your hat: when
you want to snub him you let II alone.
When you want to show reverence for my
thing you take your hat of, when you wish
to show great pleasure at seeing a friend
You wave your hat to him as You see him
coming. When you are enraptured by the
words OF a public speaker. or when you be-
come enthusiastic over q great mans ap-
pearance. YOU toss your hat in the air and
when you are recklessly drunk you smash
your hat All these things are due accord
Ing to this philosopher. to the fact that
nothing makes or mars a mans appearance
so much as his hat. Take the most gentle
manly man on earth and put q derby hat
on him that Is greenish, instead Of black
that has spots on 1t. that has a brim that
Is shiny as though, as some one has said, II
| was a favorite promenade Of snails. and
you will not suppose the wearer to be a
gentleman any longer. Similarly, you may
be much pleased with the appearance Of a
| nan in a parlor when he wears q hand
some long frock coat, but IL you see him
cut-of-doors with that long coat on and a
low-crowned felt hat, instead Of the stove
bow to him little coolly. But q hat
really is made by men to express the social
| temperament Of their time. In the natty
straw hat Of the summer months you can
| see reflected q people who are fond Of out
| door pleasure, who do not intend either.
that all the color and pcturesqueness of
! summer life should be appropriated wholly
by the fair sex. In the modern derby there
Is the expression OF business activity, COM
| bined with good appearance. It says at
| once. II belong to a race that has not the
time to press the shape OF its hats with its
hands. and yet must have hat that will
| permit Of graceful bows" The silk hat
| shows that. notwithstanding that we are all
| busy these days and in a hurry we neverthe-
| less have some of the Formally of the days
| Of our grandfathers left. and. as an evidence
| thereof, We have preserved our grand
| fathers hat, with some slight modificat ton.
Hats in Past Ages.
| Now. II anybody doubts this interpreta-
| ton of hats. let him look at those that
were worn in the days Of King James and
Charles 1 In England, and contrast them
| with the hats that Cromwells men intro
duced. The first had Tapping brims. and
these were usually pulled down on one side
| and thrust up on the other side. They
were the hats of pleasure makers. II you
| should one hanging on a wall you
| would draw the face to which II belonged
| as a red one, ready TO laugh and beaming
all manner of jollity. But the Cromwellian
| long and peaked like the solemn steeple Of
| q church and the broad brim was straight
| hard, unrelenting. 1t belonged to a pale.
| serious face, with a solemn peaked beard
Yet there were some OF these men Of the
| commonwealth who did not accept 1t in all
| It's dreary solemnity. and they would not
wear this hat, but had one with a shorter
crown, a bent brim and a feather running
| up behind. When William III was king the
chapeau was suited to mems character. 1t
| was a eaudy affair. was highly ornamental
| and belonged to the time when the great
est handles that had ever been seen came
| on the stage. 1t was still in vogue when
| our revolution changed all this and gave
place to a less vain race of men who intro
| duced the modern hat, abolished rougeinK
| among men and finally put starched shirt
| bosoms in the place of ruffies and lace.
| Figurative Significances.
| Because Of the great importance as an in
| dex to mems minds and habits, the hat has
| all sorts of figurative significations. A car
| dinalship is known largely from the fact
that cardinals wear red hats. as simply the
| red hat" and the head Of a kingdom is
| called by what he Is supposed to wear on
| his head. the CROWN Then, soliciting
| aims is called passing around the hat"
and when a man is talking nonsense he
| is said to be talking through his hat" a
thing which. undoubtedly. no man ever
| seriously did.
| A man who is tipsy has brick in his
! hat, "and one who makes himself at home
in hospitable friends house hangs up