A Hasid's hat can be an important expression of his identity. While all such headwear may appear similar to a casual observer, "there are big differences in the hats when you know where to look". According to one Jewish hat wearer:
The male identity is so profound in the community. A visit to [the hat store] is really the one time that they act with vanity. They keep looking at the hat . . . The differences are crucial once they put [it] on . . . Is this brim too big? Does this make me too fat? There is nothing more important than the hat. Nothing. Not even nuclear war.
