The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man (4 page)

4. Pull the wide end up and through the back of the loop.

5. Hold the front of the knot with your index finger and bring the wide end down through the front knot.

6. Tighten the knot carefully to the
gills
by holding the narrow end and sliding the knot up. Center the knot.

Bringing Back the Hat

And now for the ultimate finishing touch for any gentleman’s outfit: the hat.

Up until the 1950s, men were rarely seen out and about without a hat sitting upon their heads. Since that time, the wearing of hats has seen a precipitous decline. No one is sure why. Some say the downfall of hats occurred when JFK did not wear a hat to his inauguration, thus forever branding them as uncool. This is an urban myth, however, as Kennedy did indeed don a hat that day. Another theory posits that the shrinking size of cars made wearing a hat while driving prohibitively difficult. Most likely, the demise of hats can simply be traced to changing styles and the ongoing trend toward a more casual look.

Yet hats are due for a full resurgence. Hats are both functional and stylish. They can hide a bad hair day, cover a bald spot, keep your head warm and shade your eyes from the sun. Hats supply a touch of class and sophistication, impart personality and add an interesting and unique accent to your outfits. And hats are a surefire way to boost your confidence. A cool hat can quickly become your signature piece and give you extra swagger.

The Different Kinds of Hats

Of course men today still wear hats, but they are most often confined to ratty baseball caps, hippie beanie caps or the thankfully almost extinct trucker hat. There is nothing wrong with these kinds of headpieces per se, but there are other hat options out there. So mix up your lids with the following options.

The Flat Cap

The flat cap has a rounded shape, a small brim and a high back. Long associated with working-class men in the UK, the flat cap can be a stylish way to add interest to a casual outfit. They can give your tired jeans and T-shirt look unique style. Choose the more masculine flat cap over the similar, but rounder and puffier, newsboy cap. The latter has been almost entirely co-opted by the ladies.

Figure 1.5 The flat cap.

The Fedora

Fedoras were once considered de rigueur for men going out in public, whether they were headed to work or a ballgame. While once mainstream, a man in a fedora is now seen as a trendsetter. Fedoras are soft and usually made of felt, creased lengthwise down the crown and pinched on both sides. Fedoras will make you look manly and a bit mysterious. Worn by Prohibition-era gangsters, almost all of the movie stars of the 1940s and Old Blue Eyes himself, donning a fedora puts you in touch with a truly suave and manly heritage.

Figure 1.6 The fedora.

The Porkpie

Named for its resemblance to an actual pork pie, this hat is similar to a fedora but with a flat top instead of a pinched crown. The brim is also shorter and turned up. The hat is often associated with the jazz, blues and ska culture, but was also worn by the likes of Robert Oppenheimer, father of the atomic bomb.

Figure 1.7 The porkpie.

The Homburg

The homburg is another hat similar to the fedora. The homburg’s brim lacks the fedora’s pinches and is turned up all the way around. The hat is accented with a hatband into which a feather may be stuck. Less casual than a top hat and dressier than a fedora, the homburg was the go-to lid for politicians and diplomats in the twentieth century. Favored by the Godfather and resurrected by the likes of Snoop Dogg and Tupac, the homburg now carries a distinctly gangster flavor.

Figure 1.8 The homburg.

The Bowler/Derby

Bowlers are hard, made of felt and have very short brims. While considered a British icon, the bowler was also part of the urban culture of America in the nineteenth century. For example, one of the gangs that roamed the mean streets of New York City around this time was the Plug Uglies. The Uglies were never without their bowler hats, which they wore both as their signature piece and to protect their heads during their many scuffles with rival gangs.

Figure 1.9 The bowler/derby.

Trilby

If the bowler is largely known as a British hat, the trilby is distinctively American. Trilbies, with their deeply indented crown and narrow brim, share similarities with the homburg and fedora but have a style all their own. Although traditionally associated with the jazz culture and paired with dressier outfits, today a checkered or tweed trilby is often worn to top off a more casual outfit.

Figure 1.10 The trilby.

Wear a Hat With Confidence

“Cock your hat—angles are attitudes.”

—Frank Sinatra

Hats can give you a feeling of effortless cool and manly confidence. Few people loved hats more, or wore them better than Frank Sinatra. He was constantly playing with the idea of angling and tilting his hat to convey different attitudes. Here’s how you can wear your hat to reflect your mood:

• Wear your hat pushed back to seem more open and accessible.

• Tilt your hat over your eyes to seem mysterious and intimidating.

• Tilt your hat up 1 inch from completely straight to project an all-business attitude.

Hat Etiquette

The hat is a singular accessory; when and where you don it, doff it and tip it conveys respect in a way no other piece of clothing can. In adopting the hat as your signature piece, you must also accept the responsibilities that go with it. Often ignored, hat etiquette will show that your uniqueness extends not only to your choice of headwear but to your manners as well.

Hats should always be removed:

• At funerals and graveside services

• Inside Christian churches

• During outdoor weddings

• Inside of homes, restaurants and buildings (unless in the corridors or lobbies of the latter)

• When riding an elevator in the presence of a lady

Figure 1.11 Hats should always be removed when riding in an elevator in the presence of a lady.