The Grand Forks Herald warned today in 1913 that man had better be careful what he wore today to avoid violating an unwritten North Dakota law, and, “making a ‘faux pas’ of the worst kind.” Today marked the first day of the year during which a straw hat should not be worn again until June 1.

Though the Herald opposed the short straw hat season, it cautioned against donning one today: “Of course you can wear yours if you want to,” wrote the Herald, “just as a man can come home at 3 a.m., or bring a friend home to dinner without phoning his wife, or win a game of kelly pool and then put up his cue.[But] if the wind comes sweeping down the street today and blows your hat off...remember the date and bring forth your plaid cap or low-crowned derby, without trying to defy precedent any longer.”

By Tessa Sandstrom
Source:
“Straw hat banned say best dressers,” Grand Forks Herald. September 2, 1913: 8.
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