Monday, February 26, 2024 Hat Parade

As a rule, I’ve never been very fond of winter hats, mostly for vanity reasons. Actually 100% for vanity reasons: they make a mockery out of whatever you had going on with your hair and then it’s a done deal for the rest of the day. I wore them, but only out of necessity.

Then came the day I bought a winter-ish hat up in Grand Marais, probably ten years ago now. It wasn’t suitable for walking around on cold windy days, but I could wear it for places I went to by car. To my utter astonishment, this hat was a real fashion statement. If I wore it, someone invariably commented on how much they liked it and where did I get it, etc. This still happens, all these years later. One lady even asked me to take it off so she could take a closer look at it and figure out how to make one herself. She took a photo as well. I wonder if she was successful? I accidentally left it at a movie theater once and was in a near panic that someone would make off with it. I called the theater and they found it and held it for me. Phew!

So now I had a whole new appreciation for the world of winter hats, which coincided nicely with the fact that I began getting them as gifts, each one occupying a special place in my winter world. Assuming you want to see them, I’ve asked my good friend Cuddles to model them for you.

This is the Original Hat. In addition to being a fashion statement, it has never made a mockery of my hair.

The Amsterdam Hat! My husband actually brought that back from Amsterdam after he’d been there on a business trip. This is my go-to hat for walking outside. If it’s cold enough to wear this hat, I don’t care what it does to my hair. I cram it on and wrap a scarf around my face for extra measure.

The Black Tam, a gift from one of my sons. It’s a jaunty hat, as you can see, and Cuddles wears it well. This one also commits no hair offenses.

The Tweed Cap. I bought it to replace a favorite plaid cap of mine that was purchased in Grand Marais at the same time as the Original Hat above. I bought that one for my daughter, but she left it behind when she went to college and I appropriated it for myself. Sadly, that one was stolen when our car was broken into (among many other things). It’s more of a fall/spring hat for sure.

The Cloche Hat, a Christmas gift from my husband in 2023. The Cloche is beautifully made and a joy to wear – it’s for dressy occasions as you can imagine, and I always feel very classy when I wear it.

Let’s give a round of applause to Cuddles for being such a great sport about the Hat Parade.

I’ll put a cloche over this post in the morning.