Can I wear a baseball cap to the dinner table? 20-40-60 answers

YOU ASK…WE ANSWER…YOU DECIDE

Question:  Is it ok to wear baseball caps at the table or indoors?  My husband is not happy when our teen-aged son wears his baseball cap all the time and he asks that it be taken off at the dinner table.  My son is not happy when he has to take it off, but he does what his dad asks him to do.

How about women?  Can they wear baseball caps indoors?

Callie’s answer: If your husband really does not like it that your son wears his baseball cap at the table, then don’t let him.

Although, is it really that big of a deal?  Maybe, if you are going out to dinner then, yes, make him take it off. It is just a hat. If it is a house rule, then stick to your guns and don’t change your mind.

If this is the worse thing that your son is doing, pick your battles.

Women should only wear baseball caps to keep the sun out of their face. Other than that, they look sloppy.

Lillie-Beth’s answer: The longtime tradition that men should not wear hats at the table (indoors in general, really) still applies. I haven’t found anything to contradict an etiquette rule that is considered a sign of respect.

As for the rule applying to women, I am answering reluctantly, because if I’m wearing a hat, it’s usually because my hair looks terrible that day. I certainly don’t want to take it off and reveal the mess underneath. So I’d rather the old manners rule about hats at the dinner table not applying to women stay in place.

However, it’s 2010, and that guideline once applied to women who wore formal hats as part of their everyday outfits. Today, both men and women nowadays wear casual hats, and I don’t think women are exempt from taking them off indoors or even during the National Anthem, especially when their hats are as informal as a baseball cap.

“What is clearly a lady’s hat — something with flowers, veils or other such frivolity — may be worn inside, as well as outdoors (although never at home or after dark),” writes longtime etiquette columnist Miss Manners Judith Martin. “Unisex hats must be removed.”