RANDOM REMINDER

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30398, 24 March 1964, Page 28

RANDOM REMINDER

BAD HATS

If there is a general criticism of the dress habits of Christchurch’s younger men, it is more often a complaint about their addiction to tightfitting black trousers and sharply-pointed shoes than to any attempt at Savile Row elegance. It may well be that the younger men of Christchurch are ready in the extreme to lower the dignity of anyone who may appear to place rather too much importance on fashion and habit. So it was that in a Christchurch bank a dapper young man who for some time had been noted for the smart cut of his suits, the rapidity with which he

changed his tie styles to conform with the mode, and a general air regarded as being too close to foppishness, added to his wardrobe a nice new bowler hat, which he wore each day to work. His colleagues noted the change, and conferred. Apparently young bank clerks today have more money to spare than their fathers ever owned, for they put in money to buy another bowler hat, of the same brand, but several sizes too large. It was no trouble to exchange the hats, so that at the end of the day, when the Beau Brummel of Hereford street put his hat on his head, the debonair little pat of the hand on the crown thrust it down al-

most, it seemed, to his shoulders. To his credit, he said nothing. But he was back next day, with the hatband packed tight with paper to hold the thing properly into place, and with his name neatly printed on it. That state of affairs lasted three or four days. Then, of course, the others made the second switch. They neatly printed his name in his original hat, stuffed it tightly with paper and left it to him. Laurel and Hardy made a lot of money out of this sort of gag. But according to the young bankers, their act was just cold turkey compared with the incredulous performance of their colleague.