YOU can tell a lot about a man by the hat he wears, or doesn't wear for that matter.
Or can you? Does it even matter what he plonks on his head?
When a politician is scheduled to visit the outback or a rural community, it must send his or her PR consultants and communication managers into a panic.
For many of these pollies, the only dust that gets collected upon their RM Williams boots is the bulldust blowing within the halls of Canberra.
So when it is time to step out into a real paddock, into the elements and heat and flies and onto the scorched earth, it's no wonder they often seem out of place.
And they know that every camera is watching.
For his visit to the western Queensland drought-enduring area of Quilpie this week, new Prime Minster, Scott Morrison, had a critical decision to make.
Not so much about whether to bring up climate change or drought policies, but about what to wear on the old noggin.
ScoMo went the cap.
Was it a spit in the face of broad-brimmed Australia, a sign you can take the boy out of the city but you can't take the city out of the boy?
Or was it a slick image move, suggesting that by foregoing the "out-of-the-box Akubra" he wasn't trying to be something he's not, and lifting his "genuineness ranking" in the process?
Arguments could be made for both.
Either way, the country was watching closely.
Many will be interested to see what he dons upon his next excursion to overtly shake rustic hands, Russell Coight style.
At some points, the brim wasn't exactly square with his face, delivering that awkward "just trying to be one of the cool kids" look.
It could have been worse; he could have worn the cap backwards.
For a stint there, Barnaby Joyce had habit of dragging out a beaten-up cap that seemed like it had been wedged underneath a Landcruiser seat for the past year or so.
Within this article you’ll note a selection of poorly doctored images of what the new PM may have looked like on the tour with alternative hat choices.
Curiously, those flanking the PM, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud and Major General Stephen Day both slipped on broad-brimmed hats.
However, photos seem to indicate Minister for Rural Health and Regional Communications, Bridget McKenzie and Nationals leader Michael McCormack went with no hat at all.
As any Aussie primary schooler will tell you: No hat, no play.
McKenzie and McCormack shouldn't been allowed out of the car without a hat.
It's certainly not reinforcing the "slip, slop, slap and slide" motto that's been around for so long.
The point is, at least the PM wore a hat.
It makes a statement that the drought is hot and savage and will affect all of us, regardless of political alliance.
- After more fashion in agriculture? Well here you go.