What makes an authority figure's hat look cool/silly?

[Perfection]

Many authoirty figures wear hats. Some look cool and some don't. What are the big factors in your opinion that make the determination of weather a hat wil look cool rather than silly or vice versa.

 

[Warman17]

I don't know, but nothing says Abe Lincoln like a stovepipe hat.

 

[Raisin Bran]

Size madders .... too big is not good. NO HAIR ON THE HATS PLEASE.

Canadian Guards hats are a real joke!

 

[Verbose]

Size madders .... too big is not good. NO HAIR ON THE HATS PLEASE.

Canadian Guards hats are a real joke!

Nononono!

The bear-skin hat is designed to make your elite formations, guards and grenadeers, look as big and tall and threatening as possible on the field of battle.
That along with all the gold, blue, red, green etc. that you can slap on them. And you spitshine the surfaces that can take a polish.

[/QUOTE]

 

[Masquerouge]

On a related note, when did men stop wearing hats?
(there is one really funny article by the Onion on that one)

 

[Heretic_Cata]

This one looks funny.

I never understood why they looked like this. Probably because they thought that the enemy might still use catapults with human projectiles, and if they would fall on their head they would have died impaled.

 

[BCLG100]

On a related note, when did men stop wearing hats?
(there is one really funny article by the Onion on that one)

when women came to dislike hat hair.

 

[Wolfe Tone]

A major factor would be how it would look on R Lee Ermey.

 

[Sidhe]

Size madders .... too big is not good. NO HAIR ON THE HATS PLEASE.

Canadian Guards hats are a real joke!

Can you imagine going into battle in these now a days ,talk about sniper bait. Mind you they were that gaudy because of all the gun powder smoke on the battle field, I seem to remember, otherwise your men tended to shoot at the wrong guys. Makes sense I supose. I'm pretty sure they never wore the hats those, their distinctly ceremonial. Perhaps a military expert can correct my aprehensions?

 

[Eran of Arcadia]

I think it depends entirely on the wearer. Abe Lincoln looked bad[donkey] in his stovepipe hat because hey, he was the Abinator. But those Canadian Guards look silly because all they do is dress up all spiffy and whatnot. I'm sure in a fight they would kick some serious butt, but as part of a ceremonial outfit, they look ridiculous.

 

[Fugitive Sisyphus]

To quote my former history teacher "it's not the size of the hat but how you wear it." This was in reference to the hat styles of Panho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. So sombreros are pretty good for authority figures.

Wow, that's the second post with innuendo in it for me today.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Height. The higher the cooler.

 

[Tycoon101]

Keep it simple stupid
If the hat is gaudy then you won't be respected. Have a nice clean, simple hat and you will be very presentable.

 

[Heretic_Cata]

Height. The higher the cooler.

Or not

 

[GoodSarmatian]

I have never seen an authority figure with a hat that doesn't look silly...

 

[GenMarshall]

The Catholic and Anglican/Episcopal Mitres are cool looking

Pope Benedict XVI - Catholic Mitre

Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams - Angican Mitre

However the Trade Federation's Mitres in Star Wars are quite odd. Neimoidian headgears are oviously odd.

Neimoidian senatorial miter

Vessel command officer's miter & Subordinate's miter

Large, pompous miter

Heritage miter

 

[Cheezy the Wiz]

The best hat ever is the fedora, but only when it is on one of the four: Frank Sinatra, Indiana Jones, Humhrey Bogart, and moi.
Those, and the paperboy hats you see in like thirties movies, that old black guys wear.

 

[Till]

As long as the hypothetical hat is modest, it doesn't make any difference to me.
Pipe smoker get extra coolness points from me.

 

[Tycoon101]

The best hat ever is the fedora, but only when it is on one of the four: Frank Sinatra, Indiana Jones, Humhrey Bogart, and moi.
Those, and the paperboy hats you see in like thirties movies, that old black guys wear.

Or Linux.

But I agree, fedoras are really awesome hats.

 

[The Last Conformist]

Or not

That's not an authority figure.