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The Hepcat in the Hat

Can hats possibly get any better? They have lost the glamour of the 40s, but there are still some good hats out there for the woman who dares to wear them.

And I dare. With gusto.

My current favorite is a structured Newsboy/Ascot type cap. I have one in camel and one in black. I wear the black more but both are wearable with a wide variety of styles. This is the same style that Samuel Jackson is seen wearing backwards a lot. It's a style that is neither too formal, so that you look like you're heading to church, nor so casual you look like a slouch. Better, it works with a lot of facial shapes. I have a square sort of face/jaw line and a lot of hats do not flatter this type of head. The cloche for example. Cute hats, but I look like I have a big, upside-down tulip on my head. Nor do big, floppy hats look too good on me. I prefer the structured types. But all hats are good I think because it takes a certain kind of person to wear a hat. Most people don't. I don't think my mom owns a single hat. I have (count on fingers) 6, if you don't count winter woven caps. If you count the caps I must have 10 or 11. In Columbus, Ohio, knitted warm caps are a requirement. When I said most people don't wear hats, I mean for style, not for keeping your head warm. Hats are one of those accessories that are only practical based upon the weather. but timeless based upon sytle. People will hear a bucket hat in the rain or a woolen cap in the cold, but because a hat doesn't always have the practicality of, say, a watch, it isn't as common an accessory. It takes a little extra style-oomph to wear an accessory just for the accessories sake. Purses, watches and sunglasses are all more useful, so we do get stylish ones. But a hat is a bit of flare that's there for it's own sake.

Now most men look pretty good in hats I think. Whether it's a leather Run DMC hat or a Greek Fisherman's cap, a man in a hat is saying that he cares about being well dressed. I'm not saying that men who do not wear hats (80s band or not) are not stylish, but again, the hat is the cherry on the sundae. Except, I am sorry to say, baseball caps. Sorry fellas, you do not look hip or suave with a baseball cap on. The only possible exception to this is if you are an ACTUAL baseball player. But I was raised in the South and to me baseball caps mean one of three things or possibly a combination:

You...

  • are a farmer
  • like Nascar
  • are losing your hair and think a baseball cap is a viable cover-up

Note: Bald men can be very sexy. If you are losing your hair, shave it all off and wear a more stylish hat. That's just my opinion, but I think it's more attractive.

Ahem. Anyway, summer is a rough time for wearing hats, except for those fabulous cotton bucket hats you can get for $2.99 at a store whose name rhymes with Marget. I have actually worn my black newsboy/ascot/ eight-quarter whatever you call it hat only 1 day. I can't wear it much because it's 100% wool. I will get a lot of mileage out of them, both black and camel, this fall though. Maybe I'll even get a Fedora. That might be the ONLY reason to look forward to cooler weather here.

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