I'm interested in the hat debate because my grandfather owned a hat factory back in the day when men wore hats all the time. And there were all these rules about men's hats, like not ever wearing them indoors, not tipping your hat to a man (insult), always wearing them outside, etc.
'Kay, assuming (and this is a huge leap) that Miss Manners is the knowledgeable one on this subject, here's what she says:
"Men aren't expected anymore to tip their hats in passing to women, but they are expected to remove them during the National Anthem. But are women required to do so?
"If it's a formal hat, even during the National Anthem, a woman would not remove her hat," Witt said. {hat etiquette expert}
Not everybody understand that rule, however, and some people take offense when a woman leaves her hat on. In those cases, Witt suggests it is better to set protocol aside for civility and harmony. "Sometimes it's better to succumb to the moment," she said.
Why are there different rules for men and women? Nationally syndicated columnist Miss Manners suspects it may have to do with the dramatically different styles of men's and women's hats.
Men's hats are easily removed, but women's hats with ribbons, bows, flowers and other decorations can be quite a production to remove, especially if they're anchored with hat pins.
Fair enough, but what if the woman and man are both wearing baseball caps? Does it make sense that only the man takes off his headgear during the National Anthem? Probably not, Miss Manners suggests. Without the traditional ladies' hat, she wrote, "you cannot claim the ladies' exemption."
http://www.villagehatshop.com/hat_etiquette.html
