Hats are a sure-fire way to boost your confidence. A cool hat can quickly become your signature piece and give you extra swagger. Emily Post is quoted as saying, in 1959, “It is impossible for a hatless woman to be chic.” Hats are both stylish and functional. They keep your head warm, distract from a bad hair day, and can shade your eyes from the sun. Hats can give you a touch of class and sophistication, impart personality and add an interesting and unique accent to your outfits.

In adopting the hat as your signature piece, you must also accept the responsibility of hat etiquette. Often ignored, hat etiquette will show that your uniqueness extends not only to your choice of headwear, but your manners as well.

For men, remember the following:

First, promptly remove your hat upon entering an elevator, restaurant or someone’s home. And never wear your hat during a meal. Also, when greeting a friend, touch the brim of your hat lightly. When meeting a female in public raise the hat by the crown. During the national anthem, remove your hat and place it over your heart.

Ladies, however, keep their hats on indoors, everywhere except their own houses. If it's a formal hat, even during the National Anthem, a woman would not remove her hat.

What if the woman and man are both wearing baseball caps? Does it make sense that only the man takes off his headgear during the National Anthem? Probably not, Miss Manners suggests. Without the traditional ladies' hat, she wrote, "you cannot claim the ladies' exemption."

Miss Manners recognizes that some rules vary peculiarly. It is acceptable for Christian women to wear hats in church, but disrespectful for men to wear them. Not so with Conservative or Orthodox Jews, who would find it disrespectful for men not to cover their heads with a yarmulke when in a synagogue.

When you are considering to wear a hat, you do not need to keep in mind if the hat is your "style". Many people will forgo the opportunity to wear a hat because they are afraid of what people might think. From a fashion standpoint this does not compute. Unless you are going to sport something truly awful, it's hard to look bad in a hat. With the popularity of the TV show Mad Men, both sexes have discovered that hats are fun, add a distinguished look and pretty much enhance an outfit. So step out of your comfort zone and rock a new look. You will be pleasantly surprised.