May 17, 1957
Los Angeles
Let the record show that there was once a time in Los Angeles when
something other than a backward baseball cap was deemed the height of
fashion in men’s hats. [I mean, guys, at least take them off in
restaurants–unless it’s a truck stop].
Although its origins are shrouded in the mists of fashion history, Los
Angeles’ straw hat season began in mid-May and ended in mid-September,
when felt hats returned. It was a practice that was embraced with
enthusiasm beginning by 1894 and lasted until 1967, when the last
holdout–Bullock’s–gave up the idea.
The fashionable chapeau, 1906
Straw hat humor, 1923
The ever-popular sailor, 1924
An array of straw hats, 1930
Love that puggaree band, 1935
Miss Foreign Trade helps pick a hat, 1942
Walter Slezak, 1953. Note the disturbing disappearance of a brim. This could get ugly.
Uh-oh. This is not a good look, 1960.
Bullock’s, the lone holdout, 1965.
A dorky straw hat to accent the equally dorky wingtip loafers (are you kidding me?) from Bullock’s. Fashion doom, 1967.
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