Old hat?

When John F. Kennedy was sworn in as president in 1961, he shocked America by refusing to wear a hat during his inauguration address. His decision seemed to precipitate a sharp decline in the wearing of hats. The state opening of parliament is by no means the British equivalent of an inauguration and Samantha Cameron is no JFK. But her decision to go bareheaded on Tuesday raises an urgent question about the state of the British hat.

Mrs Cameron looked delightful in the gallery of the House of Lords, where — technically — she was not required to wear a hat. But the custom of wearing headgear on certain occasions (weddings, Royal Ascot, the Queen’s garden party) ought to be protected. Hats add elegance and originality, and their increasing absence from weddings over the last decade is to be lamented.

Americans remain undecided about whether Mr Kennedy’s inauguration triggered the decline in hat sales that followed, or if his refusal to wear one reflected a trend that was already established.