Headwear, clothing, and footwear designed, produced, marketed and sold primarily in retail
store chains which are intended to
make the wearer appear less
powerful and preferably powerless.
The "flat
cap" exemplifies "powerless attire," a garment which makes the wearer look powerless. Though or perhaps because flat caps have been worn for centuries, so very few individuals realize how it really affects the appearance of the individual who wears one, the way others treat him, his identity and his self-concept. The history of the flat
cap is very telling. It began to be worn in Northern
England after a 1571 Act of Parliament decreed that on Sundays and holidays, all males over 6 years of age, except for the nobility and "persons of degree", were to wear woollen caps on
pain of a fine of three farthings (3/
4 penny) per
day. The flat
cap became firmly entrenched as a recognized
mark of a non-noble subject, such as a burgher, tradesman, or apprentice. Police or military officer's caps have the elevation in the front and makes those who wear them look authoritative and powerful.
