Photo: Men wearing hats in the 1920s
The History:
This custom of chivalry dates all the way back to the days of knights in shining armour. Suits of armour were designed to protect every last inch of the body including the head. The helmet part of the armour, however, made it hard to recognize the person underneath the metal as friend or foe.Out of this difficulty the tradition arose: men lifted their visor to demonstrate that they were friendly and nonthreatening. Therefore, it became custom for men to lift their visors or remove their helmet in the presence of a lady. This was also customary when passing other knights, or people in general.
The Custom:
The tradition which was born in the days of yore, or perhaps more accurately lore, managed to find its way within the modern world. You may be asking yourself: how is this possible? Clearly, the suit of armour did not persist into modernity. The metal helmet was replaced with first the top hat, the fedora and then later on with the cap (most recently baseball caps).
Like male fashion, the custom evolved. Men no longer lifted their visors but tipped their hats. This act was no longer to reveal an obscured friendly face but rather served as a cordial gesture. It still said 'I'm a friend' to those it was directed at.
This act of chivalry became so engrained in western culture almost every man tipped his hat at one point. Whether it was a way of saying hello, thank you, or more broadly respect/admiration this was ultimately a sign of good manners. It became a normal social custom and was, for a time, a deeply engrained behaviour.
The Verdict: LOVE IT (Hats off to this one)!
In total honesty the entire tipping your hat custom is not something that stirred up passionate feelings one way, or the other. But, it is a harmless gesture of respect so this shifted the scales in its favour. It also did not hurt that it is directed at both sexes and there is equality in that.
Stay tuned for more. There will be a new blog post every week!
