Handkerchiefs are useful for wiping away dirt and sweat. I'd be willing to bet the first handkerchiefs were just rags some sweaty guy happened to carry around with him. Somebody else decided that handkerchiefs could be pretty as well as useful, and made a colorful handkerchief. Eventually, they became so fashionable that even though most people - other than my dad - no longer carry handkerchiefs, the distinctive sight of one tucked neatly into a pocket had become tradition. Once something becomes tradition, it no longer has to have a rational reason behind it. (Place your own socio-religious commentary here).
A more obvious (and current) example is the baseball brim conundrum - forwards or backwards? QUICK YOU MUST DECIDE! IT IS IMPORTANT!
Like most things that are cool in America, the backwards cap was invented by black people. Like most fashion trends started by black people, it was started simply to make black people look different from white people.
The brim was invented to shield one's eyes from the sun. Wearing the brim backwards negates this, but it does send the message that the wearer is 'different' and that he doesn't go along with other people. Rational people. Still, the backwards cap is still less awkward than super-baggy pants. And more useful than other trends:
Of course, there is still a tipping point where a trend begins to point to its own ridiculousness and lack of logic:
When a fashion trend reaches that point, people soon realize how nonsensical the trend was in the first place, and move on to wearing something else that doesn't make sense and/or something that didn't make sense 20 years ago.
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