Know Your Chapeaux
The late, and wonderful hat champion Isabella Blow in 2006.
I adore hats. I cannot walk by a hat — in a department store, a street fair, a friend's closet — without trying it on. I love tiny little cocktail hats with a demure little blusher veil, wide brim silk confections stacked with faux flowers, fetching fedoras , leopard-skin pillbox hats (of course), Philip Treacy's Dali-esque creations, Stephen Jones' careful artworks, and the funky designs of Eugenia Kim. If I could still wear a corset and white cotton gloves I would slide them on in a second — but failing those old-fashioned accessories, a hat is the statement for me. It's the cherry on the top of your outfit; and most of all, it's the little piece of magic that allows you to become someone else. "I am a woman of mystery," purrs a fedora tipped over your highly smoky eye. "I am a lady," coos the lacy slice of heaven pinned to your curls. "I am an artist," intones... well, anything the late, great, Isabella Blow ever wore. Today, just in time for Easter, Los Angeles Times columnist, and hat devotee Patt Morrison will tell you how to unlock your inner Hedda Hopper. And if you want a how-to video on topping off your outfit hosted by Ms. Morrison herself, go to this link.
More From Blog Of The Nation
Comments
You must be signed in to leave a comment. Sign In / Register
Please keep your community civil. All comments must follow the NPR.org Community rules and terms of use, and will be moderated prior to posting. NPR reserves the right to use the comments we receive, in whole or in part, and to use the commenter's name and location, in any medium. See also the Terms of Use, Privacy Policy and Community FAQ.
I grew up in Australia where skin cancer is a serious issue - and there was one rule at school entitled "NO HAT NO PLAY", strictly adhered to. Needless to say, I'm much more comfortable wearing hats as an adult, as is most of the population.
I always admire a smartly dressed person wearing a hat. Unfortunately as our society has become more casual, proper hats have become a thing of the past. I must admit that except for my extension collection of "Bad Hair Day" baseball caps I am not a hat aficianado. Today's show has inspired me to at least seek out a sun hat for the summer.
I live in a rainy climate. A hat (fedora) is a much more convenient accessory than an umbrella. As long as I use one it might as well look good. Shopping for a good hat is more fun and less expensive than shopping for a suit.
The winter habit has evolved into summer hat wearing to keep the sun off my face.
I (male) began to wear a fedora after moving to Cleveland, OH, when I began to lose my hair, just to keep my head warm (Southerners suffer here), but have gotten so many compliments on my hat that I am shopping for more to wear all the time.
I wear hats--I own around 15 or so, not counting golf/baseball hats. In the summers, I have two different Panamas. In the winter, I alternate between 4 fedora-styles in gray, green, or black, or I wear versions of tam o'shanters. I can't imagine not having a hat most of the time. But then, I'm nearly bald.
I have a full head of hair. How do I avoid the embarrassment of "hat hair" ?
Hats confer instant personality to the wearer. I'm a guy, and I have close to 20 hats--and only two are baseball caps, which are ubiquitous and mostly ugly. Stetson felt fedora, beret, knit watchcap, Amish straw, straw fedora, hardhat, waterproof Australian outback, belled foolscap, bowler straw boater ... I wear the baseball caps only when I want to be anonymous, or blend in to the student population at Michigan State University...
I belong to an African-American hat, where hats are still very much in vogue. There are ladies of more advance years who wouldn't be caught dead without their hats. Of course not everyone still wears hats, so we sometimes have 'hat days' My Mom and I have probably 50 hats between the two of us.
I still remember a nice gentleman tipping his hat to me one lovely summer day. It was a very memorable gesture that still makes me smile when I recall it. To bad more men don't wear hats!
I never leave the house without a hat on. No, they're not necessarily fancy or fanciful. In fact, for some reason men's fedoras look great on me. A hat is a necessary part of how I face the world.
I wore lots of hats in high school (late 90's) until the boys decided that it was an unfair sexist rule that they had to remove their hats indoors. They raised a big stink about it and I was no longer allowed to wear a hat indoors. Sadly after that, I gave them up.
As a collector and wearer of hats, I have made it my mission to provide hat opportunities for all of my friends. I am now listening to the woman who has hat parties. So do I! I have an annual hat luncheon. Hats are required, gloves and pearls are optional. Many of my friends now shop for their new hat for each year's party and have gifted me with some beautiful chapeaux.
after living in europe for nine years and only recently returning to the states, i've noticed that men in america wear baseball hats as part of default outfit and that's a shame!
while i think that more men should wear hats, baseball hats should be discouraged at all times.
they lack grace, imagination, and are appropriate only for outdoor athletic activities or for watching baseball games.
wear such a hat?
I am a college professor in Orange County, CA, and many of my students wear hats -- knitted and crocheted hats, often made by the wearer or his/her friends/relatives. I realize that these are kinda the "t-shirts" of the hat world, but they are nicely creative and versatile.
in the regular army we are all required to were our 'cover' or to the rest of the world a hat. my most favorite hat is the maroon beret with stay-bright crest that shines against the sun and hangs low on one side covering the eye brow-- it's very distinctive.
At first I used to blame JFK for the loss of hats in the nation. But I have come to realize that it is because of him that I love hats. They are odd and striking, wearing a good hat makes one stand out. In my younger punk days I used to wear a Fez to clubs just because is was so different and swank.
Strangely absent from your conversation today is the ubiquitous baseball cap. They are everywhere: presidential candidates, rock stars, sports stars, soccer moms, movie stars, teeny boppers, hoodlums, WW2 vets; they're everywhere. And they come in all colors, slogans, and fabrics. I wear mine most Saturdays when I don't want to comb my hair... Don't they count as hats?
I am 24 and have always loved the old world stylish look of hats. Girls my age normally shy away from them but I never did. It always added a flare to my outfit.
Having been involved in hats all my life, I find it a shame that we have to challenge all the commercial hatters with a quality hat line that will hopefully bring them back in line. The reason for the decline of wearing hats is the decline in quality. We only produce the finest hats in the universe at the Sterling Beaver Hat Company
For decades I wore caps that are variously called driving caps, apple caps, sports caps. They are certainly a step up from the gauche baseball caps, which are suitable for sports, or work. Then one day in my mid-forties I opted for something a little more elegant and bought a Homborg! It certainly altered how people look at me, especially when I wear it with my Inverness cape. I have since acquired as an alternate cover a deer stalker. During the spring and summer I wear a boater to the office. On my daily constitutionals through a larg park and doing yard work, I wear a straw pith helmet.
The guest on the show was certainly right that you just can't stick a hat on the back of your head. For maximum shade a man should wear his hat canted slightly downward.
Bravo to the caller who wanted to see hats return so that hat racks will reappear in restaurants. Nothing evokes poor breeding than a man wearing a cover at the table!
And Sonja, the boys raising a stink about sexism was disingenuous. Unfortunately there are now generations of men in this country who were never taught that gentlemen remove their hats indoors. Even the rudest villian in Westerns knew that!
A great piece on NPR but what about this: Women ALWAYS look better in men's hats then do men. Why? I think it's because when a man chooses a particular hat, he's making a distinct statement--a top hat implies civility; a fedora speaks to his refinement; the cop's hat shows you he's in charge. Put those same hats on women, and the look is suddenly so much more playful and disarming; the statements disappear. It's as if by wearing them, women are saying, "Hey, don't take yourself so seriously!"
I love wearing my Flat Cap or Cabbie hats. It shades me head and completes my look. I'm heavly involved in the Scottish/Irish Community in my city, and my hat helps identify me and my involvement. I was very glad that these hats were coming back in style since more became avaliable. I did find in nearly impossible to find styles and sizes that fit me until Target started carrying them.
I attend college in a fair-sized city in a northern state. I am always surprised to see hat wearers break the traditional knitted cap, but it seems to be more of a cute-sy or girlish style than as a traditional ladies hat. I see knitted cloches, caps with attached artificial braids and many colored floppy buckets. Sadly, as spring comes, the hats depart!
Hats rock! We're next door to a great company that designs hats and I wear hats quite a lot now. Here in San Francisco I see them all over the place - they are making a come back! The only problem is that being a photographer it's hard to wear a hat with a brim on the front when you have a camera up to your face (My favorite hate: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2103/2199393029_5ec491d516.jpg)
(My warm weather hat: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2102/2332132888_1dde25529b.jpg)
