I think you should discard the hats. While you're at it you should also discard the "uniforms" all together. Uniforms are tacky. Everyone should have their own individual style.
In the winter, I suggest a good pair of faded jeans (with at least one hole somewhere) or maybe that new dirty/muddy look, some hiking boots, a sweater (your choice of color) and one of those wool things that you can pull down over your ears, and by all means something that satisfies your "leather" fetish (A Harley eagle on the back is a nice touch). Be sure you wear the jeans long enough to be able to walk on the leg bottoms and low enough so that no one will know where your waist is located, and everyone can identify the color of your underwear. Belts are not required.
In the summer you can wear shorts (provided they're too big and long enough to cover your knees), sandals of your choice (sneakers without socks optional), and one of those flowered shirts they sell at WalMart that some people think come from "the islands" (be sure you never tuck it in). Be sure you do not wear an undershirt. Sun glasses are essential, but they should have "style". Any wierd shape and lenses color will do as long as they are not "Ray Ban" shaped and neutral gray. Bright blue is cool.
That way I will always be able to identify your airline and keep my family and myself off of it. It has nothing to do with how "professional" you look, I'm sure you're plenty professional. I know that because your told me so. It's just that I don't want to ride with a bunch of spoiled brats that have nothing better to do than b!tch about clothing. I want my pilots to be numbered among the truly unhappy and abused and if they work for a company dumb enough to require a uniform I can be assured of that. That way I know they're always alert and looking over their shoulder for the real threats, like the hat police.
While you're at it, you should launch a campaign with your Congressmen and Senators to make sure that in the future, uniforms for the military will become optional as well, and enlisted personnel do not have to "salute" officers. That's all old fashioned. Privates should be able to call Generals "Bro" if they feel like it. The Dutch have the right idea and our military should follow their example. It doesn't make them any less professional.
One last thing, please try to get all those insipid sound systems in lobbies, terminals, elevators and banks, etc., to change the boring music they play to hip hop and turn the volume up so that we don't have to engage in conversation. Besides, everyone should be able to hear words that begin with S, F, N, and M - F at least 50 times a day until they become commonly accepted and a part of routine vocabulary. Having to speak without 4-letter words predominating the language is boring and just as stupid as having to wear uniforms. Especially uniforms that include hats.
Another thing. Hiring minimums should be lowered to the hours required for a commercial license and any airline that can't guarantee that you will become a "Captain" in 6 months isn't worth working for.
Enjoy your freedoms is my motto. Self expression is a constitutional right. No management should be able to tell you what to wear or when to wear it. If your company will not abandon its out dated uniform policy then you ought to strike. That will bring them to their senses in a hurry. "Don't worry, be happy!"
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