When to wear a trilby

SIR – As a retired Guards officer, Iain Duncan Smith (Letters, February 9) probably served at a time when there were indeed written rules that required officers, when in plain clothes in London, to wear bowler hats until 6pm, after which they could be exchanged for trilbies.

Today, anything goes. The bowler has become virtually extinct, except for the horse fraternity.

When I wore mine to the recent funeral of a former soldier, I overheard someone say: “I didn’t know it was fancy dress.”

A H W Izod

Edenbridge, Kent

SIR – Mr Duncan Smith may have flouted the unwritten rules by wearing a trilby hat before the Goodwood meeting in July.

However, he is one of the few members of the House of Commons who can wear his campaign medals with pride on each Remembrance Sunday.

More people should wear a hat to keep their minds active during the cold weather.

Tintern, Monmouthshire Martin Everett