Hat checker

[micaelo]

Hello. I'm reading an article about Mariah Carey and it mentions that when she was young she even worked as a hat checker. Now what on earth is that? I can't find a definition anywhere. Thank you.

 

[Mister Micawber]

.
A checker is 'a person that receives items for temporary safekeeping or for shipment: a baggage checker'. Many finer restaurants, concert halls, etc, provide staffed checkrooms for guests to safely leave their hats, coats and bundles during their stay.


Female checkers are/were also often called hatcheck girls.
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[susiedqq]

There is not much status in being a hatcheck girl. Perhaps this is how she is explaining that she knows what it is to be poor, or work at a lowly job, while trying to become famous.