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 35th 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 55rd 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
VISIT US ON FACEBOOK AT:
Bigdaddyblues Vintage Haberdasher
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