Topic 68: The Passing of Modesty

Carol:

Hats Off to the Ladies

Family Hats, 1940's

I got up this morning thinking about hats. I have seen dozens of hats in the last week as I have taken the vintage family photos under the magnifying glass to try to identify faces. When the hats weren’t on the ladies’ heads, they were gripped in their hands. Hats with feathers, hats with yards of lace, bows fruit, polka dots, all in the name of fashion…. and modesty. Women wore hats in public, and they wore them in church.  Modesty in dress, modulation of the voice, and body carriage were all formal, outward signs of humility and respect. People did judge a book by its cover.  

 Now the leap from modesty and civility to hats may seem extreme, even ridiculous, but in fact for centuries people (not just women) have shown veneration and respect—and the virtues of modesty and humility—through different types of clothing.  And the choices we make about how we dress, what we wear for which occasion, what we adopt as our personal “uniform” reflect our customs and values.
 

Head coverings of all kinds are an integral part of religious traditions, whether a yarmulke, a prayer shawl, a mantilla or a veil. In Hebrew the word for modesty is “tziut,” and particularly within Orthodox Judaism, the word describes not only the idea of humility and modesty in dress but religious laws that govern conduct between the sexes. Muslims use the Arabic word “hijab” to describe both the use of head coverings and modest clothing in general. Like traditional Jews and Muslims, Catholics and other Christian groups use head coverings at services to show reverence and humility. All of these customs are rooted in religious scripture whether the Hebrew Bible, the Qur'an, or the New Testament.
 

The use of head coverings for religious purposes has become increasingly controversial in westernized, secular societies. Some people argue that such traditions devalue women as subservient to men, or reflect slavish obedience to outdated and unpopular religious rules, or worse that they are evidence of dangerous religious and political fundamentalism.  We may seem to honor the principle of religious freedom without the tolerance of religious custom.
 

Most Americans wore hats to uphold social rather than religious traditions. Etiquette and local customs dictated what kind of hat to wear for different occasions. “In the Edwardian age it did not matter if you were poor or rich, old or a child, whatever the status a person wore a hat, only beggars went bareheaded.  Even militant suffragettes did not campaign without a hat” (source: Fashion-era.com).  Hats for formal occasions are no longer in vogue, not even Easter bonnets. In our town, cowboy hats, ball caps and Tilley head gear are fashion of the day except for at a fund-raiser at our local women’s shelter, a gathering of the red hat ladies,  or a celebration of Territorial Days.   

I love hats, and I have a whole basketful in my front hall closet—two Tilley hats, a gardening hat, and several ball caps showing school and team allegiances. Not a single Easter Bonnet.
I’d like to make a proposal… a modest one. Bring back the hats. 

Family Hats, 1960's

Source: 
Fashion-era.com  

Head covering  and the Freedom of Religion. 
Heacovering for Catholic women.
Headcoverings by Devorah.

Megan:

Today, we are baking christmas cookies and getting ready for a party. We (and by we, I mean me) are also operating on less than 2 hours of sleep. 

I'll be back on Monday.