And That's All I've Gotta Say About Hat

In grade 12, my high school introduced the hat rule: no student could wear a hat inside the building. The rule was very unpopular, especially with me, so much so that I wrote my French opinion speech on it.

The English version of the speech can be found here: http://atsikouras.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F93F3721AF1BE8!270.entry

In the speech, I addressed every possible reason I could think of for the ban of hats: gang activity, respect, distraction, etc. Later in the year, I met with the vice principal to discuss the rule, and he claimed that the reason for the rule was to be able to easier identify students. This answer was so unexpected to me that I couldn't really reply to it, but looking back it made even less sense. The basis of his argument is that people are easier to identify with their hats off. This itself is seriously flawed.

In "Cool Bodies: TV Ad Talk", Gillespie says "clothes are an important manifestation, often a conscious public statement, of one's cultural affinities". In other words, people where things that represent them.

Consider me, for an example. Since grade 6, I've always worn a Blue Jays cap. When I meet new people, the first thing they probably remember me as is "the guy with the Jays cap". This is the truth, and it is not insulting. Of course it is not my full personality, but any form of fashion is really you trying to portray yourself to the world without directly communicating. This way, it is easier to meet people who have common interests because you know from afar whether or not you have anything in common.

Style does not stop at caps either, though, but is represented in everything you wear. In the end, you can find that most people have a small section of their personality that is actually visible to the public. I might wear my Jays cap, a Van Halen t-shirt and running shoes, and someone might guess (correctly) that I like baseball, classic rock music and playing sports.

The idea that hats make us harder to identify is very flawed. Of course, our faces aren't as visible, but caps are a much stronger identifier than the face. This is why commercial products work so well: their logos are based on catching the eye. Our faces may produce some identification traits, but it is much more limited than a large multi-coloured object on top of the head. Think about "Where's Waldo?"; wouldn't he be a little easier to find if no one else on the page had that red and white shirt and toque?

In fact, it is more than having a marketable icon on you: it is about marketing yourself. This is what we do from high school through university. We are attempting to sell ourselves to people, and what we wear is the box the product comes in. Once someone picks up the box, then you can have a chance at showing them what's inside, but before that, you need an attractive box to catch their attention. To prevent teenagers and young adults from displaying this could technically be considered a crime against nature.

Finally, I close with this image I made last year as my display pic for MSN. While it is not a photo of me, is there any doubt who it represents?