Hats from Madagascar. Paul Goldfinger. Rear view window. Jan 2, 2019 Lakes Park Market in Ft. Myers, Fla.
By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net
SCENE: These hats are supposedly woven by natives in Madagascar. They are beautiful, well made, and with wonderful colors. But if you imagine some native women sitting in front of a mud hut producing them, you might have difficulty reconciling the price, because the average cost is $50.00.
Most of the browsers are women, and the salesperson is a woman. A gentleman came by, and she tried to sell him a baseball cap. But he walked away, and then I stepped to the plate:
Me: Which are the hats for men?
She: We don’t have hats for men; we have women’s and unisex. You can look at our unisex selection over there.
Me: I don’t like the term “unisex.” I won’t buy a hat that’s “unisex.”
Me, silently talking to myself: I think the term is obnoxious, and it is rarely used to refer to clothing.
There were, in fact, hats in that booth that traditionally were designed for men—baseball and pork pies. But here they are identified as being “unisex.” If a man came by who loved one of their wide brimmed “woman’s” hats, then she would say that he would be buying a “woman’s hat.” But if a woman buys a baseball hat, that would be “unisex.”
I was annoyed…so I left and headed for the French crepes food truck to take photos of those French girls in their winter clothes.
Besides, if I bought the Madagascar unisex model, I would not know which bathroom to use.
Maybe this is the start of something big: another ridiculous example of political correctness in America.
MONICA RAMEY AND THE BEEGIE ADAIR TRIO:
addendum: Here is a link from one year ago where I wrote about these hats:
Paul, did you ever think that maybe they only have women and unisex people in Madagascar? I just don”t know how you could be so none-caring about these people and the national pride they have for their hats.