No white after Labor Day. Can’t mix plaid and stripes. Jewelry metals must match. These are just a few of the fashion rules that have dictated what is “appropriate” and what is not over the years. Today, these issues might spark vigorous internet debates, but they rarely lead to full-fledged violence. But more than a century ago, something as trivial as a fashion trend sparked a riot.
Straw hats, with their wide brims and woven styles, were a common summer accessory for men throughout the 19th century. Though these hats were generally worn at the turn of the 20th century, an unwritten rule emerged: they should not be worn past September 15th, or Felt Hat Day. The custom of transitioning from the lighter, summer straw hat to a heavier, fall-appropriate felt hat became not just a fashion choice, but a matter of proper etiquette. If a man was seen wearing a straw hat after that date, it would be considered socially acceptable for teenagers and stockbrokers to knock off the hat and stomp on it. Over several years, the switch became so ingrained in New York society that violating it was viewed as a serious social offense.
Stockbrokers had a ritual around the end of straw hat season. On Felt Hat Day, they would symbolically destroy their old straw hats by tossing them on the floor of the stock exchange, crushing them underfoot as a sign of their wealth and status. This ritual destruction was meant to show that they could afford a new hat every season. However, this seemingly playful act soon became something more aggressive. The practice was no longer confined to Wall Street. The men who continued to wear their hats were not just socially ridiculed — they were physically attacked.
In 1922, just a few days before straw hat season officially ended, gangs of young boys took an early start on this hat-harming tradition, roaming through Manhattan and harassing any man still wearing a straw hat. These boys wildly searched for men who dared to break the unwritten rule. Mobs of young boys began knocking hats off men’s heads, stomping on them, and even throwing the hats into the streets, where they were trampled by others. By the time the riots had reached their peak, the situation had gone beyond merely fashion. What had started as a harmless tradition on Wall Street had snowballed into a violent social movement that would last for days. Several men were left terribly injured after being beaten by the boys, and about a dozen of the teenagers were arrested. One man named Harry Gerber was even hospitalized after he fought a crowd of boys that were after his hat. Additionally, ten-year-old bystander John Sweeney suffered from a broken leg while spectating the riot. The arrested teenagers were brought to Night Court, where Magistrate Peter A. Hatting (funnily enough) gave them fines and minimal jail time, as needed.
The aggression of the Straw Hat Riots revealed how rigid social expectations controlled behavior in that era. The rioters saw themselves as upholding tradition, believing that anyone who defied such an ingrained cultural norm, no matter how frivolous, needed to be punished. The rioters’ actions, though seemingly immature and childlike, were an assertion of power over the men they believed had violated the rules. Not only were they punishing the men for their fashion choices, but they were also enforcing societal order. By defying the common fashion trends, the men wearing the straw hats were seen as challenging the larger social structure, something the rioters would not stand for.
Strikingly, the Straw Hat Riots had an apparent lack of effective police intervention. While law enforcement did attempt to get involved, the police seemed unable or unwilling to stop the violence. After breaking up one group of rioters, another gang would simply take their place in a different neighborhood. This raised questions about the power of social norms over actual law enforcement. What made these norms so powerful that they could override the rule of law? Why did the rioters, most of whom were young boys, feel so entitled to police public space in this way? Why did the police allow it to happen?
Much like the Straw Hat Riots, other instances of social unrest throughout history have been caused by a desire to control those who challenge societal norms. The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943, for example, saw American servicemen and white civilians attacking Latino youth for their fashion choices, seeing the zoot suits (which consisted of a broad-shouldered drape jacket and balloon-leg trousers) as unpatriotic during wartime. Similarly, the Hard Hat Riot of 1970 erupted when construction workers clashed with anti-Vietnam War demonstrators, viewing the protests as a threat to their patriotic values. In both cases, the violence was less about the specific fashion choices of the victims and more about the enforcement of a perceived social order.
The Straw Hat Riots were a powerful demonstration of how far people would go to protect what they believed to be social order. The anger that motivated the rioters was about the enforcement of rules that defined society, not just about a type of hat. Men who wore straw hats after September 15th were seen as a hazard to norms. Their actions were a way to assert authority in a world where the observance of strict rules was paramount. During the 1920s, a time of cultural change and a clash between traditional values and emerging modernism, tensions between old and new societal norms were increasingly apparent.
In hindsight, the Straw Hat Riot may seem absurd, but it reveals how deep-rooted social norms and traditions can become in shaping behavior. The idea that a hat could provoke such intense public backlash is an exaggeration of how powerful social expectations can be. “The average man’s devotion to his hat is one of life’s greatest mysteries. It seems to be something sacred in his life, which he cherishes and protects as passionately as he does his dignity, his honor, and his grandmother’s memory. He will fight for it, quarrel over it and risk his life under a motortruck or a trolley car to salvage its remains, in a wind…When a boy wants to start a fight all he does is to snatch another boy’s hat — and the battle is on,” said Helen Rowland.
This kind of social pressure still exists today, although it’s no longer about hats. Social media has heightened mob mentality over social norms, as platforms allow collective judgment to spread rapidly, pressuring individuals or brands to conform to shifting expectations. Perceived violations of these norms can quickly lead to public backlash, making it harder for people to deviate from the group without facing significant consequences.
Today, rules like “no white after Labor Day” or “no mixing black and navy” seem almost quaint. These rigid standards are less enforced, and personal style is more individualistic than it was a century ago. Yet, the Straw Hat Riots remind us of a time when social conformity was taken to such an extreme that it sparked violence. People continue to police each other, often without even realizing it, based on unwritten rules and traditions that seem just as arbitrary as the ones that sparked the Straw Hat Riots in 1922.
The lesson from the Straw Hat Riots is clear: when society places too much emphasis on conforming to unreasoned standards, it can lead to unnecessary division and conflict. What began as a minor fashion custom escalated into chaos, because people felt it was their duty to enforce these rules at all costs. For the rioters, the destruction of straw hats symbolized their attempt to reinforce control in a world that felt increasingly out of balance.
“The average man’s devotion to his hat is one of life’s greatest mysteries. It seems to be something sacred in his life, which he cherishes and protects as passionately as he does his dignity, his honor, and his grandmother’s memory. He will fight for it, quarrel over it and risk his life under a motortruck or a trolley car to salvage its remains, in a wind…When a boy wants to start a fight all he does is to snatch another boy’s hat—and the battle is on,” said Helen Rowland.