Summer is winding down, which makes it a good time to take a series of looks at some of the summer clothing habits that help define the era, including their symbolic ramifications, ecological implications, and political stakes. First stop: the cap.
In a short video from August 6 arranged with the TikTok and Instagram viewer, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris calls Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to announce that she is offering to be her running mate for the upcoming U.S. presidential election.
The aspirant veepfilmed at home, wears a black T-shirt, beige chinos, white sneakers and, of course, a cap firmly screwed on his head. Not just any cap, either: a camouflage hat, recalling his years of military service or his real passion for hunting, it’s up to the voters to decide.
This camo hat is now on sale on the site kamalaharris.com and bears the names of the two candidates on the ticket embroidered in orange. The Democratic clan hopes to make it its counterpart to the famous Trumpist propaganda tool, the red cap with the MAGA slogan (make America great againIn the United States, political advertising has been done for decades with a whole range of promotional merchandise, from flags to T-shirts.
The style is the man. Mr. Walz’s style stands out from the flashy ties and designer suits of the Republican duo. The former high school teacher was chosen precisely because he could appeal to the so-called middle class and rank-and-file workers in the blue-collar states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. With his plaid jackets, LL Bean coats, ill-fitting jeans, work boots, sneakers and, above all, his message hats, this governor looks like the good guy next door, perfectly coherent and authentic.
The baseball cap is actually increasingly asserting itself as an essential clothing accessory in this continent-country, and this explains that. As our empire of the world extends its influence in the field of clothing as in so many other sectors, economic, technological or cultural, it is now worn almost everywhere, almost all the time, by everyone – especially by men, in fact. The “ tiara of america » described by the British hatter Stephen Jones becomes the universal (male) skullcap, from Ouagadougou to Limoilou.
Wear the hat
The crown with a visor is obviously used to protect oneself from the sun, the wind, and the rain. However, in terms of fashion, the utilitarian aspect ultimately does not explain much. Choices and trends arise from many other strong intertwined causes: biopower, seduction, the weight of traditions and the group, commerce and advertising, ideological affirmation, distinction, etc.
The result can end up being surprising, for better or for worse. We see it even at the Met or the Oscar parties, reputed to be the most exclusive in the world. Who can judge? The celebrities who participate and the designers who dress them must know a thing or two about what it takes to stand out.
THE New York Times highlighted a few days ago how the laissez-faire surrounding this peaked cap could, on the other hand, upset inherited decorum. The article deplored the case of caps kept at the table.
In his very recent autobiography of class defector, Duplessis Street (Lux), Canadian radio host Jean-Philippe Pleau recounts that in the summer of 2022, he kept his cap on while sitting at a table at the trendy restaurant Tapeo in Montreal with his show’s researcher, and that she quickly politely asked him to take it off. “I took this sentence as a reminder that I don’t master the social codes of a chic, distinguished restaurant,” writes the essayist. “I kept my cap on and politely replied: ‘I’ll keep it on, Kim, I feel good about it too.'”
Mr. Pleau makes it an example of his way of assuming his popular and proletarian heritage. To each his own motivations, to each his own agency.
Be cool
It is still tempting to see in it — also? rather? — a way of asserting one’s cool individualism, as a trendy artist would do to stand out from bourgeois conventions. We could thus read in it a gesture linked to the spirit of this time allergic to dress codes, where one is capable of tolerating everything (including the use of the telephone everywhere) for fear of being accused of intolerance.
“Keeping your cap on anywhere becomes a way of presenting yourself as a free and authentic individual to tell others: ‘Accept me as I am, even when I go against conventions,’” notes Julie Blais Comeau, founder of the company Étiquette Julie, which offers training on the subject. “It has become an accessory that demonstrates a desire to assert yourself against the norms. I believe that this desire has been amplified by the pandemic. After the lockdowns, people went out and said to themselves: ‘I do what I want, how I like it, and let others endure.’”
The specialist explains that, traditionally, according to hat etiquette, a woman could keep it on until late afternoon and a man had to remove it as soon as he entered the house. “Etiquette is the rule for living together, a mark of respect for the other,” she sums up. “When you come into contact with someone, you want to see and show their eyes and face, so you have to remove your hat. Even more so when the request to remove it is formulated in a polite manner.”
Mme Blais Comeau was contacted in Europe, where she is on a cruise. Other passengers sometimes wear caps in accordance with standards of decorum. She herself uses them when she is walking briskly in the morning. “I am not saying that people who keep their caps on all the time are not respectful,” she concludes. “I am not saying that these people are not courteous or are rude, etc. What I am saying is that some people could perceive a lack of respect towards others.”
Will Mr. Walz wear one when he takes the oath of office in January if he is elected?