Ode to The Hat
every man wore a hat
a baseball cap, a toque,
a fedora, a beanie
these are never removed
they sleep in them
they shower in them
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I can’t recall
the last time I saw a man
without a hat
eating
driving
shopping
hooking up
answering the door
indoors
outdoors
naked except for the hat
these hats never came off
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I saw a Jays baseball cap
on the barista
every time I went into the cafe
for years
it went from sort of white
to a dark roast colour
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no one every washed those hats
falling apart
debris on their heads
the more dilapidated
the prouder they were
some bragged
‘I haven’t taken this hat off
for five years
for ten years
it used to be my father’s
he wanted to be buried wearing it’
the hat was sacred
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the hair under it –
that’s another story
One of my Tumblr feeds is of vintage photographs. I was amused & amazed to see what men wore doing things like harvesting, fishing, working on the roof, etc. It was mainly – shirt, tie & a hat& appropriate footwear. I mean going fishing in a short & tie & sports coat. I guess easier wear was yet to be invented. Men walking on the beach wearing a suit! Even in pictures from the 50’s – Dad in short & tie cooking at the bbq. Store clerks, cooks in steaming kitchens – sometimes shirt sleeves rolled up & tie tucked under apron.
I can’t remember remember the last time I saw a man in a shirt & tie outside of clothing store clerk! Going to theatre was once an excuse for dressing up – at Stratford it’s usually shorts & t-shirts. Comfort has defeated formal wear. The baseball cap has pretty much replaced fedoras, pork-pies – unless one is wearing a bowler as a sign of hipness. These hats are statement pieces not casual wear.
I personally favour the baseball cap, as opposed to tall front truckers hat. I have a fairly large range colours, mostly from my vast travels with a lot from Cape Breton. There a couple of cadet & ascot caps. Not familiar with them? I had to resort to google to find out the style’s exact name as they aren’t baseball caps. For winter I have a pile of toques in a range of thickness, colour & cuteness.
I sometimes see guys with a tag of authenticity dangling from their baseball hats so we know it isn’t a knock-off of a limited edition sports icon branded $250.00 (that’s low end) cap to go with their $1200.00 (low end) sneakers. There are special wall units for displaying those collectable hats & shoes. They take the place of art. One brand even had a limited-edition laser printed poster of a cap for a hundred bucks. Can’t wear that poster in the rain.
TOpoet 