HATS IN THE LIFT

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 228, 23 June 1936, Page 10

HATS IN THE LIFT

Dilemma When Women Are Present

SHOULD THEY BE RAISED’

(By

J.P.C.)

This hat-raising in the lift when women are present is becoming troublesome again. Nobody seems to know whether a man should remove hi,s hat; somebody ought to do something about it.

It is all very embarrassing. A diligent search through the books on etiquette failed to reveal any guide, and now I am floundering in a morass from which I can see no escape until someone iu authority lays down a concise and fool-proof ruling. Few lift journeys can be undertaken without the grave risk of women being present, aud my “savoir i'aire” is being severely taxed. The obvious solution is to make an inflexible rule, but it’s not as simple as all that. A man has his independence and his duty to his fellow-men to consider. If 'he keeps his bat firmly attached to his head he imagines, rightly or wrongly, that he is the target of a battery of withering glints from female eyes, and if he is at all sensitive this distracts him from his work for the remainder of the day. If, on the other hand, he holds Jiis hat by his side, he is probably not noticed by the females, and, what is more, his prestige with his fellows is lowered. So I consulted our lift girl. She was not very helpful. “It’s a matter for yourself,” she said. “It’s really about fifty-fifty. I don’t suppose it’s a breach of good manners not to remove your hat, but I admire the men who do. Those who can’t make up their minds are the ones who amuse me; they’re so embarrassed. Some never worry about it when there are middle-aged women in the lift, but as soon as a pretty young flapper enters their hats are off in a flash.”

There was nothing for it but to experiment. For two days I took off my hat when the occasion demanded, but the derisive comment of my friends destroyed my morale, to the contempt of the lift girl. For the last two days I have brazened it out by keeping my hat on, but such is the unveiled scorn of the lift gfrl that I have been considering walking up ’ and down the five floors to avoid the lift. The climax, however, came yesterday afternoon. As I stepped out of the lift I collided with a stranger who was about to enter, and my hat was knocked to the ground. The lift girl picked it up for me. “You’ve dropped your hat,” she said, coldly. I still don’t know what to do.