WHAT IS THE PROPER TIME FOR MEN TO WEAR SPRING AND SUMMER HATS AND CLOTHES?

WHAT IS THE PROPER TIME FOR MEN TO WEAR SPRING AND SUMMER HATS AND CLOTHES?

After a long cold winter a gentleman is eager put his fine beaver and fur felt hats away for the upcoming spring and summer months.  Like me, you may have been shopping for new summer hats a full month before spring and Easter arrive.  Uppermost on the minds of many men is the singular question, “When Is It Appropriate To Begin Wearing Warm Weather Hats And Clothes”?  The answer is that it is generally a matter of preference but warm weather clothes should be featured beginning with the first day of spring, at Easter or beginning with Memorial Day.   

In those regions of the world where the winter cold may still be lingering making it impractical to dress for warm weather the best rule is to dress for the weather.  Being a slave to the dictates of fashion is a poor epitaph even for the fashion forward who might otherwise have lived many long years to make the landscape decidedly more handsomely stylish.  Fashion is not intended to be a thing we die for, or as will more likely be the case, to get sick over, it is all about living as comfortably and stylishly as we can.  That being said, it is my opinion that we gentlemen have four options from which to pick, the three mentioned previously and the fourth which is the common sense answer; “when the weather is accommodating for warm weather apparel”.  More than likely it will be these first three; Spring, Easter or Memorial Day. 

The least conservative window for wearing straw, silk or other warm weather hats and attire is at The Vernal Equinox on the first day of spring typically in mid-April.  Virtually every place in North America located above the 35^th parallel north will be experiencing winter-like weather at the beginning of spring, hence the origin of the All American, “Spring Break”.  The obvious question is, “If spring is the first day that one should wear spring and summer hats is it the first day one can shift to spring and summer clothing”?  It is my opinion that one should not wear one without the other.  There may be some leakage of suede or fine fur hats with a short, sueded finish with spring apparel but the heavy winter chapeau’s must be left behind once the linen, cotton and other warm weather fabrics are pulled out of the trunk.    Most places above the 55^rd Parallel North Latitude will be experiencing anything but warm weather at the vernal equinox.

A more conservative window for wearing straw hats and warm weather attire opens on Easter Sunday in late March.  We all remember the pastel coloured suits we donned on Easter day they are still as vivid as if we were reminiscing through our old family photograph album?  Easter is a splendid time to inaugurate our warm weather apparel, launching the season’s fashions for the next 5 to six months of stylistic interpretation.  Easter is a time that even the most conservative men can agree upon even though we often revert to our winter garb on the Monday morning following Easter Sunday. 

The most conservative window for wearing warm weather apparel including hats and other fabrics opens on Memorial Day toward the end of May.  Victorians considered it to be improper to wear white before for Memorial Day.  Fortunately we are no longer living in the world of the Victorians.  Memorial Day is a perfectly fine time to begin wearing warm weather clothes but with the rapidly changing climate we have been experiencing in the first quarter of the century the early warming trend may make it impractical to continue wearing heavy winter garments in order to keep an old tradition going. 

As with most things we must take such rules, traditions and conventions with a grain or two of salt.  I only recently found myself discussing this topic with one of the proprietors of Andrea’s Fine Hats and she mentioned that they begin to get calls before and around spring asking when it is proper to wear straw hats.  My best advice is to use your own best discretion.  If we experience an unseasonable early warming trend it is wise to dress for the weather.  It is perfectly fine to wear a spring suit for Easter Sunday and then go back to winter clothing the next day if the weather is still very wintry. 

Whatever he does a gentleman should attempt to be as appropriate as he can.  A gentleman will never criticize or debase anyone based on their choice of clothing or timing of said choice even in the most discrete company; he must be completely tolerant of another gentleman’s freedom of choice even though it does not mirror his own.  A gentleman never says or implies anything that might hurt or insult another gentleman as it is his duty to model the utmost of tolerance.  A gentleman understands that clothing is a circumstantial factor and far more important is the dignity of human being wearing them.  We never know why a person wears what they wear; it could be due to poverty or a billion other variables we do not have the ability to understand or the power to change. Therefore, a gentleman must show great restraint so as not to make judgment on the way another person is clothed unless they are a client of his and he is a clothier or as a matter of profession he is engaged to deliver his critique of some specific apparel.  So a gentleman should not judge another person based on their clothes, he should evaluate them against their deeds.

Whatever time you determine is the appropriate moment for you to begin wearing warm weather hats and apparel I implore you to have fun with them.  Always dress for your own pleasure.  Be creative and confident in your personal sense of style…

Written By: David Vollin

BIGDADDYBLUES VINTAGE HABERDASHER

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