Play ball!

It is alright to be mad at me. But I couldn't abide it if you stayed mad at me. We can agree to disagree, if we must, more is the pity. Remember when I provided my fashion travel guide? Remember my caution about uncalled for baseball hats? Here's why we may have a problem: I think most women look dreadful in baseball hats and ought not wear them at all. As a “look” there is nothing flattering about a baseball hat unless one is trying to effect a look of fearsomeness. There is the “arrested juvenile” look of it that detracts from any seriousness of purpose one may have cultivated as an adult. There is the “imitation of men” aspect which ought to give any thoughtful woman pause before she dons such an ornament so emblematic of “manliness”. You can quibble that this is precisely the role which a feminist ought to play: breaking the tablets and questioning the shibboleths. I would argue that it is a meager attempt at best to erode any of the many crusted gender perceptions. It doesn't work! It looks imitative.

If one wants to appear an icon of gender neutrality, then there are other and more effective ways to accomplish it. It is not a credible strategy to assume the appearance of the other sex in an unattractive way. If this sounds like the old argument about wearing pants, so be it. My purpose is not to stop feminist progress in its tracks, only to make it appear more attractive. A baseball hat is rather a thoughtless fashion choice. True, it meets a variety of practical purposes: sun hat, rain hat, fishing hat and fan ornament. Sadly though, much of the time it is a faded and grungy relic of its original incarnation and it reflects poorly on the wearer's style choices, not to mention team loyalty. Yes, there are ridiculous pristine examples with gold braid and embossed logos but they carry their own commentary on excessive consumption and self-absorption.

It has really become such universal head gear, that it is impossible for most people to separate it from the general fashion currency, where it is an accepted and normal adornment at what I would consider inappropriate occasions. But here I am speaking about the use by women, who I feel can do much better since they are more likely to consider style and appearance before they leave the house. If one takes the time to apply the magic of makeup, then I think it is undercut by topping the effect with a baseball hat, unless one is actually playing baseball or some equally indolent sport, and one cares little about hair-styling.

In the days when hats were sized to the wearer and not mass-produced to fit everyone with an expanding ugly plastic strip, wearing a hat backwards lent an appearance of carelessness. From the front, the hat could have passed for the brimless cap of some strange order of worshipers. With the addition of the plastic strip, the frontal view is utterly ludicrous and one appears disconcertingly casual in the extreme. This is not a look I recommend for any woman who has already crossed into fashion danger territory with an uncalled-for hat! A chapeau must flatter or why bother?

Hugs galore,

Celeste