Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Mark Twain

This is a nice old picture of Mark Twain, or Samuel Clemens. I really like the hats. I wonder when people stopped wearing hats. I can remember in the 1960's my dad wore a hat not unlike the one on the right. A fine hat was an integral part of a business suit. I think by the 1970's, I don't remember men wearing dress hats. Maybe it is just me, but I think people wearing hats were more gentlemanly, and dignified. I think it is time we bring the dress hat back, and the civility that went with it.

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13 comments:

  1. beautiful picture, and i agree hats were more gentlemanly!

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  2. When John Kennedy became President in 1961, he was the first to not wear a hat (although at times he did carry one in his hand to support the industry). This trend caught on with the mass of the male population and pretty much k.o.'d the hat industry.

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  3. Visit this site to see photos of Kennedy wearing a tophat throughout most of the inauguration ceremonies and parade. http://www.snopes.com/history/american/jfkhat.asp He took it off and set it on his chair while delivering the "Ask not..." speech.

    On the other hand, Truman and Ike refused to wear tophats and only held Hombergs in their hands during most of the 1953 inauguration.

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  4. My dad said that he stopped wearing hats when he went into a restaurant that required hats be left on the hat rack by the door. Someone took his hat and he never replaced it. Every picture of my dad I know of he is hat-less, unless he's wearing a hat for a specific purpose, like fishing, golf, baseball, etc.

    I love hats too and do wish they would come back into style as more than a corny affectation for celebrities. Haberdashery is a lost art.

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  5. Unfortunately, the only hats you see regularly are the baseball hats worn backwards or with the bill skewed to the side. I wonder if these guy realize how truly stupid they look!

    Worn properly, the baseball cap can look rather sharp and inparts a feeling of athleticism and purpose. So why do they wear them to imitate the hoodlum fashon of our society?

    A really good Stetson looks very good too!

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  6. I like hats myself, but that young fellow to the right of the picture is the main reason you no longer see men wearing formal hats - the dreaded hat hair!

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  7. I'm with you. No one dresses anymore. Most of us are slobs. Dressing nicely encourages one to act nicely.

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  9. I LOOOOVE Mark Twain. He is most definitely one of my favorite people ever. This picture is great.

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  10. Young folks have been following the pretty popular trend this past year or so of wearing fedora hats or hats of a similar style - both females and males. Also popular in the DIY/Craft world are handmade and vintage hats, especially for women.
    And the steampunk trend definitely brings it all back around.

    While teenie bopper trends tend to get on my nerves, I will gladly accept some classic style as opposed to the silly sideways trucker hat.

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  11. Could someone tell me when this photo was taken?

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  12. Great photo! I found a post on Peterman's Eye today about Mark Twain and I thought I'd share. Today is actually his birthday!

    http://www.petermanseye.com/curiosities/notables-gossip/381-the-first-american-writer

    Cheers!

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