Hats have become a semiological minefield. A reader wonders how to navigate it.
Seven years ago, I was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition lupus, which includes an extraordinary sensitivity to sunlight. A baseball cap won’t suffice and looks silly with my urban professional wardrobe. Fedoras, trilbys and Panamas seem to proclaim the wearer as either an extravagant nonconformist or an anti-feminist reactionary. Is there a middle ground? — Jeffrey, London
Once upon a time, in the 19th and early 20th centuries, a hat was a basic part of an adult wardrobe — the finishing touch as one went out the door, serving as both protection and social uniform.
Then, around the
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