Ever since Aretha sang last week, people have been all aflutter about her hat. Everybody wants to try it on. (Need proof? Look here!)
Perhaps it's a symptom of a great need rising up in this country. A need for change in the headwear department! America needs hats!
Or maybe not. But it's fun to think about it.
Back in our French life I used to drool over the elegant chapeaus on display in the store windows of the local millinery, but I'd wonder about how it stayed in business. When do they ever wear these pretty things?
Then I learned about French weddings.
Oh the beautiful hats!
Take, for example, the wedding of my dear friend Francois and his lovely bride Virginie... (and yes, French accent police, I know that c needs a cedilla. Send me a bill.)
I couldn't go, but my parents took pictures.
The wedding was beautiful of course! (How could it not be with such a gorgeous couple?!)
And the hats? Marvelous!
See what I mean? Elegant hats abound!
So chic!
I love that one!
I've never ever worn a hat to church or to anything fancy. I tried a few on ages ago, but I just felt silly.
Do you ever wear one?
Would you, if you had the chance?
We're not a hat wearing family, although as I write this I'm reminded that Ben spent the entire weekend wearing this crazy furry winter hat because he got his hair buzzed so short that his poor little head was cold. Tanner the Slobber Dog spent the whole weekend trying to sneak up on it, thinking the hat was some kind of rodent attacking Ben's head.
Anyway, I asked my boys at dinner to help me make a list of characters from books or film known for wearing a hat. It was a fun game. Here's the short list we came up with.
John Wayne!
Flickr photo by Rather Salty
All those witches and wizards at Hogwarts.
Flickr photo by Nebulosus Severine ? CM Pauluh
Gilligan.
This old favorite of ours...
And another old favorite, The Cat in the Hat!
Flickr photo by Boska
Whoops! That's not exactly the image I was going for, although that photo cracks me up. Smile, lady in red! You're surrounded by cats wearing hats!
Here we go.
Flickr photo by Sparks68
There, that's better.
I'm also adding Scarlett to the list.
Flickr photo by Moncrief Speaks
She wasn't exactly known for her hats, but frankly, my dear...I hope you have a wonder-full Wednesday!
Before you scoot, tell me which hat loving characters I've left off the list!
And while we're in cat in the hat mode, would you, could you wear a hat?
While you're thinking on that one, watch this favorite scene of mine (I don't really know why I love it so much except that the song is infectious) from Singing In the Rain! Love those shower cap hats!
Love, Becky
28 comments:
Very cool! That flickr page w/ Aretha's hat was too funny! You should see the first day of the races at the Del Mar Racetrack! It is a TOTAL hat fest. WILD crazy hats and expensive hats...they make the news every year, LOL! :)
I do love hats. There's chefs hats and we can't forget Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. There were some great hats in that movie.
I wear them sometimes, but not a whole lot anymore. I'd probably wear them a lot more if I lived in a place where the temperatures stayed low for a long time.
Have you ever been to the Cup races in Camden? The Colonial Cup and the Carolina Cup. They are steeplechase horse races. There's some hat wearing going on there. Hats, formals, tables set-up with table cloths and candelabras. It's something else. It'd give you a good reason to don the chapeau. One's in Nov. and the other in March.
I love hats and collect them -- but rarely wear them. Strange, huh? I've had posts several times of people trying on some of my hats. We have fun with them. Aretha's hat was something else.
you got me here...love love love them...HRH Diana wore them with panache
When I think hats, my first thought is Marie Antoinette.
She had hats to die for…
I thought Aretha looked very chic.
And wasn’t Jackie Kennedy also a hat wearer…
I remember when I was a kid the nurses always wore a cap..
My daughter had an outside wedding and I was surprised and delighted by the number of ladies that wore hats. It truly added more beauty to the whole affair….
I know I spent more time picking out my hat for that day then I did picking out my dress…
Louise
There's a hat store here that we love to visit. It has every kind of hat imaginable including a giant birthday cake hat.
I've never really felt I could pull off the hat look, though.
Aretha's Hat - Travel directly to the Smithsonian. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
You always get me reflecting about things I otherwise wouldn't have.
A trip to England a few Springs ago to attend a wedding. The English are a bit like the French. My sister and I set out in search of THE hats at a Northhampton shopping center. Criterion: They had to be cheap and packable. We hit pay dirt with hats that looked like swirling clouds of chiffon. She got the white one, I got the black. They were 15 lbs each and were made to smash flat as pancakes for packing! Thanks for the memories, Becky.
I do wish hats weren't so out of fashion--I adore them. The Brits definitely do them right--but in the midwest the only acceptable hat is one for cold weather--knitted, of course.
I love hats. I do wear them. I have a friend who makes hats so I get some pretty fun ones
I thought all those crazy hats were a myth until I went to a wedding in Wales. I was quietly laughing to myself all day. I loved it. :)
Aretha's hat was if I am being honest, ugly.Just my opinion. I like the hats at the Kentucky Derby that the ladies wear. For me, not a hat person, unfortunately they give me a headache. I like seeing them on others though.
A great post as always.
Rosemary
How I have wished that hats would reclaim their former glory here in the U.S.
Grace Kelly comes to mind. Love the way the English wear hats too!
I love hats, although I must say that I don't wear them that often. My head is big. For fun, I sometimes try on those dainty little Audrey Hepburn type hats. I look like Stan Laurel. But do have a wonderful collection of witch hats that all fit me perfectly. Go figure!!
I also have a large head. To be perfectly honest it is freakishly large. I have ordered a couple of custom made hats from Etsy. The seamstress asked me to measure my head three times, she thought I was goofing up the measurement some how.
I was delighted with Aretha's hat!!! Usually Aretha rolls with a get-up to accentuate her ample bossooms, I thought she was rather demure for the occasionYour Pal,
Linda
Becky,
Congratulations for your very nice blog! We are very flattered by your comments on us and on the wedding!! FYI you can obtain ç by type Alt0231 (ASCII code for it), or better add an international keyboard on your computer!! To do this, you go in control panel, keyboard, add a keyboard. Then you obtain ç by typing ',c' or ô by typing '^o', etc!! Thank you and All the best!
François
Thank you Francois! (And see, even with your directions I can't get it to work! I'm afraid I'm a computer doofus.) I just wish I could have been there myself!
I hope to see you the next time we make it to Raleigh!
Pamela and Linda, embrace your large headedness! My husband has an enormous (and handsome, I should add) head. Therefore all three kids are big-headed. Therefore three strenuous births. (I shall not continue down this road.)
I always tell them big heads=big brains!
THIS VIDEO IS AMAZING. I actually just sent it to my friend who is getting married and begged her to have someone pop out of a cake at her wedding.
She didn't seem to take it too seriously...
I love French hats. I'm getting into feathered accent pieces for formal engagements. Less hat, more plummage.
This was a fantasic post.Love hats,can't wear them,but love them.How about that gorgeous wedding? WOW!!!I wanted to stop by to say hello,I have not been blogging much.Trying to get back into things.Hugs Marie Antionette
Ohh, I love hats, I used to make crazy hats for the various holidays and see how long they would let me wear them at work. I was the first person you saw when you entered the building. I wore my light up Christmas hat one year, and made a turkey hat for Thanksgiving that was pretty cool. Now I have no where to wear hats, but sometimes I don one to do art, just for old times sake. Fun post. Thanks.
When I lived in Kansas City - all the guys at the office wore cowboy hats with their dark conservative suits. Being the 'new guy', I decided I should do the same, just to fit in. Never made it outta the house. Deb (a Philly girl forever) was in hysterics (how rude!) when I paraded into the kitchen wearing my charcoal grey pinstripe suit & perfectly tilted Stetson. Never wore that hat ever again & my ego never recovered. $200 down the drain.
Ah man! That's too bad. I'm imagining you as JR. Deb could be your Sue Ellen!
I love the racing scene in My Fair Lady, but I think Easter Parade is the best hat movie ever. Have you seen it?
Nancy
I love the look of hats on other people! It's taken me most of my adult life to fine one winter hat and one summer hat that didn't make me feel silly, though ... and I finally just found those last year! I think my kids look adorable in hats too!
Yes! I love hats and wear one every chance I get. I even admired Aretha's choice. She's a big woman and therefore, the hat needed to be a big statement. And love it or hate it, that hat made a statement!
Hi Becky,
I would like to join in by tipping my hat to hats. I love them so much I worked for a milliner in Los Angeles. We made hats for the races in Del Mar (that Tatting Chic speaks of). I made my wedding chapeau. I absolutely ADORE hats. An average woman absolutely becomes dramatic and beautiful in the right hat!!
Isaac Mizrahi says "If you love an article of clothing, you will find a reason to wear it". I truly abide by his theory.
Hats off to you for this great post!
xox
Constance
ps
With all the concern about the sun damaging skin, it surprises me that more people do not choose to wear a hat!
Wasn't there another Suess book about hats? Barthalomew's Hats? Or something like that? Bart's 99 Hats? LOL...I can't remember...but it was one of my favorites as a kid.
c
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