Hat Shop in a Box, my Open Studio, wherein I’ll exhibit new hats, beads and drawings, is just around the corner. And if you plan to wear it on the rain, it’s best that you get a rain cover for your hat. A straw cowboy hat won’t protect you from rain or snow, and sunlight can make its way through the fibers, so it isn’t the best choice for sun protection. The hat features a full-size Olympic torch and was left on Nelson’s head for the duration of the London Olympics 2012, due to popular demand.

The gesture is increasingly exaggerated as the level of gratitude or the status of the other person rises, but beware of taking it too far: if anyone who isn’t hired help makes a show of removing their hat in a big arc and bowing deeply, they’re just being affectatious.

For close friends and acquaintances of higher status, one also doffs one’s hat; generally, this means raising it just off the head and putting it back down, via the brim if it’s stiff (as on a top hat or bowler), or the crown if it’s not (as on a fedora).

Plus if you happen to …