JewishAnswers.org and Black Hats

The admirable "JewishAnswers.org" site has the following answer to a question about the significance of Black Hats:

Good question! In the fifties everyone wore hats; it was a standard mode of respectable dress. Starting with President Kennedy, hats went out of style. However, the communities associated with Yeshivos kept the hats to give their appearance a sense of dignity, just like businessmen who wear suits. Eventually, Yeshiva people were the only ones wearing black hats and so it became synonymous with the Yeshiva community. Those who wear black hats today do so as a way of identifying with that community.

I think they should keep tinkering with this answer. For one thing, Chassidish Jews like me also wear black hats, not just Yeshivish folks. And why black? Why not grey hats or brown hats? And doesn't the sentence about how "communities associated with Yeshivos kept the hats" make it sound as if they all sat down one day and said "Hats are out of style--what do we do now?" I think the Frum world just didn't care that hats went out of style in the world at large. Also, in the Chassidish world at least, there is an emphasis on davening while wearing two head-coverings. (That was my Chassidish-Litvish solidarity-promotion moment of the day.)

Tags: Chassidim, black hats, Litvish, frum fashion