HAT DESIGNED BY A KING.

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 294, 27 June 1929, Page 3

HAT DESIGNED BY A KING.

A CRtuiE NOT TO WEAR ONE. Hats are playing a leading role in the unification of Persia, according to Sir E. Denison Ross, Professor of Pers'an and Director of the School of Oriental Studies at London Unicrsity, who has just arrived back in London after a tour of the East. To-day every Persian, from the icing' and the Prime Minister to the schoolboy, the soldier, and the peasant, must by law wear the same form of hat, known, after the King’s name, the the Pahlavi hat. Any person found wearing any but the prescribed hat is arrested and fined.

The King, anxious to preserve the national traits of his nation, some time ago designed a headdress which by Royal decree every one of his subjects is obliged to wear. The hat resembles an overturned saucepan made of cloth, with instead of a handle, a shade over the eyes. “In Turkey the fez has been discarded and the hard hat has taken its place in an effort to copy the Western. But in Persia the King has attempted to safeguard his nation by doing the opposite—that is to say, by establishing a national trait,” said Sir Denison Ross to a “Morning Post” representative. “The most ragged schoolboy wears the hat,” he continued. “I personally had an opportunity of contratulating His Majesty and telling Jim how happy the schoolboys seemed to be with their new 'possession.” Sir Den'son visited the Chamber in Teheran, where the deputies wore their hats at work. Nowadays only certain religious teachers .can wear the turban, and they must pass a strict examination before allowed to do so.

“There is now some doubt on a question of etiquette,” Sir Denison continued. “Should a man enter a room with his hat ou his head or Should he take it off? This point is not yet solved. Most Persians have

been obliged to discard their flowing coats and wear lounge suits.” “Iraq has also its national headdress—the forage cap, which is also worn in any colour. This fashion was set by King Feisal, who himself always wears such a hat. Meanwhile Egypt remains faithful to the fez.