Why do people say 'I will buy a hat' when you say you're ge

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Joe90
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12 Sep 2018, 5:40 am

Why do people say that they will buy a hat when you say you're getting married/want to get married to your partner? I see it being said everywhere when a wedding is mentioned. Why a hat? Why not a suit or a dress?

When I last went to a wedding literally no-one was wearing a hat. What gives with this common quote?

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EzraS
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12 Sep 2018, 7:16 am

Never heard that one before.

nick007
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12 Sep 2018, 7:59 am

EzraS wrote:

Never heard that one before.

Same here

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Magna
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12 Sep 2018, 8:01 am

Must be a UK thing. I've never heard that before either.

BTDT
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12 Sep 2018, 8:06 am

The women wore hats at the last royal wedding.

SaveFerris
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12 Sep 2018, 8:09 am

I think that expression has lost it's original meaning. AFAIK it was only used as a way of suggesting that there might be a marriage between two people. Rather than asking if someone is getting married you would say "Do I have to buy a new hat?"
Cilla Black used this expression a lot on Blind Date

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nick007
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12 Sep 2018, 8:26 am

SaveFerris wrote:

Why would people ask that in the 1st place :?:

I don't get why anyone would make a connection between buying a new hat & a wedding

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12 Sep 2018, 8:37 am

nick007 wrote:

SaveFerris wrote:

I think that expression has lost it's original meaning. AFAIK it was only used as a way of suggesting that there might be a marriage between two people. Rather than asking if someone is getting married you would say "Do I have to buy a new hat?" Cilla Black used this expression a lot on Blind Date

Why would people ask that in the 1st place? I don't get why anyone would make a connection between buying a new hat & a wedding.

For many people, a wedding is as much a social event as it is a contractual ceremony. For many women, wearing the same outfit to two social events is a fashion faux pas. Many go-to-wedding outfits for women seem to include some form of headgear. Thus, it seems that "buying a new hat" is an expression used by (some) women to indicate that they will be attending someone's wedding, and asking "Shall I buy a new hat?" is femspeak for "Is there going to be a wedding?"

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nick007
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12 Sep 2018, 8:40 am

Fnord wrote:

nick007 wrote:

SaveFerris wrote:

I think that expression has lost it's original meaning. AFAIK it was only used as a way of suggesting that there might be a marriage between two people. Rather than asking if someone is getting married you would say "Do I have to buy a new hat?" Cilla Black used this expression a lot on Blind Date

Why would people ask that in the 1st place? I don't get why anyone would make a connection between buying a new hat & a wedding.

This makes sense Thanx for explaining

kraftiekortie
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12 Sep 2018, 8:43 am

Nope...can't say that I've heard that one before....

lostonearth35
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12 Sep 2018, 4:54 pm

I've never heard of that expression before. I've heard things like "tying the knot", or "getting hitched", but buying a hat just sounds weird.

But then again, it's weird that the bride usually spends so much time and effort on getting a bridal gown that she's (hopefully) only going to wear once her whole life.

Alexanderplatz
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12 Sep 2018, 7:23 pm

There is an old expression setting your cap. I thought it was english dialect, but it gets mentioned in a Jane Austen novel, so must have been common at one time. https://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/set ... ap-at.html

CockneyRebel
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13 Sep 2018, 12:30 am

British women wear hats to high profile weddings. The Royal Wedding has been a very high profile wedding. Wedding hats have become all the rage for British women, because The Royal Wedding took place a few months ago.

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