THERE is no part of a man’s dress that _makes_ or _mars_ his appearance
so much as his hat; not that it is its striking beauty when new, or a
want of it when old, that is most materially concerned in producing
either of the above effects; the grand point is the FORM, and the
position which it is made to assume on the head; yet how few there are
who give the least attention to either, except indeed military men, and
they in general are uncommonly tasty, affording the best example of the
precise style in which a hat should be worn. It is no less singular than
true, that the same hat, by being placed on the head in different
positions, will give, in _appearance_, as many distinct _characters_ to
the _same person_ as the number of those positions amount to. The most
striking are as follows:—_sullenness_—_indolence_—_gravity_, and _good
humoured impudence_. To give the first, draw the brim of the hat so far
over the eyes that they shall be quite concealed. The second is produced
by the hat being thrown quite back. The third by a prim _horizontal_
set, covering equally all parts of the head; and the fourth will not be
easily mistaken wherever an _extravagant cock_ on either side is brought
full into view. These are undoubtedly all _extreme_ habits, and seldom
pushed to the extent here described; yet a slight inclination to either
position may, under circumstances, have a very good effect.
There is another bad custom that ought to be noticed, which I shall do
by first observing, that a hat was intended solely to keep the head
_dry_—ON which it should be worn; but many seem to differ from this
opinion, using it as a sort of NIGHT-CAP wherein is thrust head, ears,
and all. This is a most slovenly practice, as well as a dangerous one,
inasmuch as it tends to keep the head in a continual and _forced_ state
of perspiration, rendering a liability to “_take cold_,” every time the
hat is removed. Yet even this habit is not so bad as sticking the hat on
the _back_ of the head, which, of all others, is the most general, and
carries with it the greatest impropriety, because such a position not
only destroys the shape, but by lodging on the coat collar, the hind
part, from _friction_, becomes greasy, and the binding is always in a
state of raggedness; added to these disadvantages, a most ridiculous
effect is produced by the practice, that is, the head in _appearance_ is
converted into a sort of _peg_, AGAINST which the hat seems to _hang_,
instead of being placed _upon_. A man who indulges in so bad a custom,
should at least preserve a _consistency_ in his dress by walking “slip
shoed,” breeches knees open, and without braces, stockings down,
waistcoat unbuttoned, cravat half tied, one arm only in his coat sleeve,
and at least a six months’ uncombed crop of hair about his pericranium;
here he would be of a piece; and grotesque as such a figure must appear,
by a general adoption of these “captivating negligencies,” there is no
greater inconsistency in the whole catalogue than that of wearing a hat
on the _back part_ of the head.
As to the _form_ of a hat, and what is best for _this face_ or _that
person_, there is more in it than what is generally supposed, and a
great deal might be said on the subject; but to talk of a _standard
fashion_ is absurd in the extreme, in proof of which it need only be
observed, that if very large hats were adopted, a thin man of five feet
high, would, by the wearing, become as complete a caricature, as a
twenty stone man of six feet would by wearing a very small one. The best
fashion a man can follow in a hat is that which best becomes him, and
various as heads, faces, and persons may be, all things are now
accomplished (so far as a hat is concerned) that can either _fit_ the
one or ornament the other,
By the Head’s sincere friend,
and well-wisher,