period-authentic hat etiquette from '30's - '50's
Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:15 am
I posted this in the Do You Really? thread, but realized it might get more traffic if it was its own topic (btw, thanks Raider 57 for your response):
I was aware of some of the rules regarding being indoors or outdoors, and it's certainly interesting reading it from a modern point of view. Could anyone who's posted above comment about what, if anything, would have been done differently "in period"? I'm working on a play that's set in the 1940s, very film noir, and would love to have some real specific details about proper hat usage and etiquette ... particularly because it could be useful for some characters to 'screw it up' occasionally, probably on purpose as an insult to whom they're speaking. I know it won't matter to most of the audience, but it helps to have as many of the details as authentic as possible. And seriously, I'm looking for anything that you have any info on ... was it impolite to show the inside of the hat while you were holding it? (that's a big no-no in A CHORUS LINE, for instance); does one hold it with one or two hands? how would a man hand his fedora to a servant in a rich person's home, and would it make any difference if it was a male or female servant? are there protocols about how/when to deal with both a hat, an overcoat, and a suitcoat (I imagine coat off first and then hat, to keep one's hands free? And then the reverse of that when leaving? But that just seems like common sense to me, and I'm not sure if the actual rules where different. And I'm not a hat wearer [yet ... can't wait for the factory ABs to come out!], so I don't have any first-hand experience.) for that matter, do you take your hat off when you enter the restaurant, or only once you're about to sit down? is a higher-status character more likely to put on his fedora by the crown instead of the brim because he can afford a new one -- or not, because of the "old money" mentality? would a European follow different etiquette rules from an American? etc etc.
If it's accurate, no detail is too trivial, so don't be shy! Everything and anything could/should be communicating to the audience, even if it's to only a small percentage of knowledgeable folks ... but if the hat usage is wrong, and the gun handling is wrong, and the dialects are wrong, ... well, eventually that's too many inaccuracies, and they add up, even if everyone doesn't pick up on everything.
Or, is there some book or link that you could point me towards for the same questions? Again, I'm not looking for what's evolved into modern usage (like the lack of hat pegs in restaurants leading to a dilemma that wouldn't have previously existed), but what was actually done in the USA from the mid '30s - mid '50s.
Thanks in advance!
Ted
I was aware of some of the rules regarding being indoors or outdoors, and it's certainly interesting reading it from a modern point of view. Could anyone who's posted above comment about what, if anything, would have been done differently "in period"? I'm working on a play that's set in the 1940s, very film noir, and would love to have some real specific details about proper hat usage and etiquette ... particularly because it could be useful for some characters to 'screw it up' occasionally, probably on purpose as an insult to whom they're speaking. I know it won't matter to most of the audience, but it helps to have as many of the details as authentic as possible. And seriously, I'm looking for anything that you have any info on ... was it impolite to show the inside of the hat while you were holding it? (that's a big no-no in A CHORUS LINE, for instance); does one hold it with one or two hands? how would a man hand his fedora to a servant in a rich person's home, and would it make any difference if it was a male or female servant? are there protocols about how/when to deal with both a hat, an overcoat, and a suitcoat (I imagine coat off first and then hat, to keep one's hands free? And then the reverse of that when leaving? But that just seems like common sense to me, and I'm not sure if the actual rules where different. And I'm not a hat wearer [yet ... can't wait for the factory ABs to come out!], so I don't have any first-hand experience.) for that matter, do you take your hat off when you enter the restaurant, or only once you're about to sit down? is a higher-status character more likely to put on his fedora by the crown instead of the brim because he can afford a new one -- or not, because of the "old money" mentality? would a European follow different etiquette rules from an American? etc etc.
If it's accurate, no detail is too trivial, so don't be shy! Everything and anything could/should be communicating to the audience, even if it's to only a small percentage of knowledgeable folks ... but if the hat usage is wrong, and the gun handling is wrong, and the dialects are wrong, ... well, eventually that's too many inaccuracies, and they add up, even if everyone doesn't pick up on everything.
Or, is there some book or link that you could point me towards for the same questions? Again, I'm not looking for what's evolved into modern usage (like the lack of hat pegs in restaurants leading to a dilemma that wouldn't have previously existed), but what was actually done in the USA from the mid '30s - mid '50s.
Thanks in advance!
Ted