WHERE DID YOU GET THAT HAT?
Why you need a hat to get ahead
the most elegant and GLAMOROUS women have always known that to get ahead you need a hat! it, put simply, tops off the look, but more than that it can cover up for a bad hair day, keep you warm, keep you cool, keep you dry, give you attitude. a hat can be a status symbol or a social comment, it can be ironic, frivolous or deadly serious. prior to the 1960s it would have been scandalous for a woman to go out without some sort of head covering but today the hat is seen as an optional extra in western society. However the good news for hat lovers is that the hat is making a comeback and in so many different styles .. well, hats off to that!
1 a little bit of history: when hats became a fashion accessory
Before the 15th Century head coverings in the West were worn for practical or religious reasons and tended to be hoods or starched wimples. with the emergence of the Renaissance and the move to clothing being an art form the hat suddenly came to the fore as an easily embellished accessory. More and more elaborate hats made of a wide variety of fabrics were designed, reaching their zenith in the 18th Century with Marie Antoinette who favoured huge architectural and tiered feather and ribbon festooned creations that must have been impossibly uncomfortable. With the French Revolution Marie Antoinette lost not only her hats but her head and the fashion for a simpler bonnet was seen as more in keeping with the new regime.
By the 1830s hats could be purchased ready-made making them more accessible. A victorian woman might have a boater for cycling, a tam o shanter for lawn tennis and a trimmed bonnet to walk out in. In the 20th century hats became less widely worn apart from on special occasions such as the Ascot Ladies Day where large picture hats are the norm. Check out William Chambers or Lily Lewis for some great hats inspired by history.
2 the fedora: “cock your hat, angles are attitudes” Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra was a great fan of the fedora and with good reason: it is undeniably the most stylish, most versatile hat of all time. I own several (including a few Panamas: the Fedoras squashable straw cousin). My favourite is an old black fedora that I picked up in the tiniest hat shop in a backstreet of Glasgow 30+ years ago, but at the moment i’m rocking a fabulous red felt Lierys number: very Kate Moss!
So why do they work so well? They are designed to look a bit battered, appear thrown on at the last moment as an afterthought, and are so flattering. The wide brim suits all face shapes and hair styles from pixie cuts to long and loose boho. and the hat goes with just about any outfit. You can wear a cute straw Panama with a pair of denim shorts and a tee, a big wool felt black fedora with jeans and a sloppy Joe, and any fedora just rocks the maxi dress and leather jacket vibe. So go on, cock your hat, add attitude!
3 Suits you Madam!
Of course, when it comes to choosing hats nothing beats trying them on. When I shop with my daughter in a certain smart department store and she takes most of the contents of the shop into the changing room I amuse myself by trying on the hats. I don’t just try on the ones I know will suit me, I try on the unusual ones, the off-the-wall ones and the ones I wouldn’t normally consider. Its amazing the discoveries you can make. Who knew that enormous polka dot flying saucer would look so chic, to the point I was almost tempted to take out the small mortgage required to take it home!
As a rule of thumb its all about proportion. I’m only 5ft2 so (usually) enormous hats make me look like i’m being eaten by a large lamp shade: to carry off an extravagant hat you need the proportions to match. Face shape can also influence the type of hat you should try. A boater looks great on an oval or oblong shaped face, a round face loves anything asymmetrical or a wide brimmed fedora. If you have a square face go for something floppy or a chic cloche. A heart shaped face can be balanced by a hat at an angle especially one with a large brim, pulled down low. Check out some of my favourite designers for fabulous one off hats: Awon Golding, (shown below) Lock and Hatters, Philip Treacy and Nerida Fraiman perfect for Ascot or a smart Wedding.
4 I want one just like that
Imitation is the greatest from of flattery, so if you are stuck for inspiration why not check out some of the great hats worn by the rich and famous.
And where do they shop? The countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Cambridge just adore Jane Taylor. Piers Atkinson is the favourite milliner of Lady Gaga, Paloma Faith and Rihanna. Kiera Knightley is a fan of the avant garde designer Noel Stewart.
5. beanies, berets and Baker Boys
My favourite hat has to be the Baker Boy hat, originally worn by newsboys in NY but made famous in the 1960s by the likes of Jean Shrimpton, Twiggy and Brigitte Bardot. I have several vintage versions from the 60s and 70s: they yell rebel retro and urban chic and definitely look best when your hair is tucked away.
My friend Jennifer has literally hundreds of berets in a variety of colours and fabrics, felt, wool, velvet. She has magnificent natural curls and the beret sits jauntily surrounded by waves.
The beanie, like the baseball cap, apart from being practical is a bit of grunge fashion. Often adopted by celebs trying to avoid the paparazzi or merely to cover a bad hair day is the go to hat to throw in your bag in case of emergency . And in my opinion the grungier the better - just don’t try too hard!