I began wearing hats as
a young lawyer because it helped me to establish my professional identity. Before that, whenever
I was at a meeting, someone would ask
me to get coffee.
Bella Abzug

The hat is not for the street. It will never be democratized. But there are certain houses that
one cannot enter without a hat. And one must always wear a hat when lunching with people whom one
does not know well. One appears to one's best advantage.
Coco Chanel

How marvelous of you
to know exactly the right hat to wear at seven o'clock in the morning
to meet a friend who
has been away.
Oscar Wilde

Hats have never at all
been one of the vexing problems of my  life, but, indifferent as I am, these render me speechless.
I should think a well-
taught and tasteful American milliner
would go mad in England, and eventually hang
herself with bolts of
green and scarlet ribbon
— the favorite  colour combination in Liverpool.
Willa Cather

August 1, 2007 Archive

Yes, You Can Wear a Hat!
By Laurie Nienhaus
 

As surely as we see sugar bowls on the tea table, we expect to see hats upon the heads of tea party guests. It’s not a requirement of course, but tea and millinery do have a long standing relationship.

   However, some find that relationship a strain, claiming they cannot possibly wear a hat – not any hat, ever.  With all due respect, I can only reply, “Nonsense.”

   There are really only two obstacles to hat wearing happiness.  The first has to do with the fact that hats naturally catch attention. Couple this with the different visual perspective our adorned head gives us and it’s easy to see how some of us would feel self conscious or somehow not ourselves.

   It you can't overcome this first obstacle, for which we can offer only emotional support, your hat will likely wear you rather than you wearing the hat. And, sooner or later the poor hat, through no fault of its own, will find itself sitting upon a folding table at a garage sale.

   The second obstacle is simply a matter of education, for alas, most of us are not born with millinery savvy. But with the following principles as your guide, you’ll not only appear more stunning than usual, you'll likely overcome the first obstacle on your own.

1.    1. Only little girls wear hats sitting further back on their heads. A grown woman should wear her hat sitting down upon her forehead – roughly one finger’s width above the eyebrow.

2.    2. Always try tilting your hat to one side or the other, especially if you have a round or square face. And, although the milliner may have envisioned the hat sitting a certain way upon the head, there’s no reason why some hats can’t be turned in another direction.

3.    3. As a hat sits so close to your skin, you must choose colors that match your skin tone. If you’re sallow, a yellow or pale green hat is not going to work for you. Pale skinned women should consider warm colors. Women with very dark hair should steer away from black hats.

4.    4. If the color of your hat exactly matches your outfit, be sure to accessorize with another complementary color.

5.    5. Always try a hat on in natural light.

6.    6. Rather than using the small mirrors that sit upon department store counters, always look at yourself in a full length mirror while trying on hats, preferably while wearing the clothing you’re buying the hat for.

7.    7. Bangs are to be tucked into a hat.

8.    8. Tucking your hair behind your ears, in a ponytail, or a chignon will usually improve the hat’s appeal.

9.    9. Because your hair is away from your face, always consider earrings to complement the hat and your outfit.

10 10. The top of a hat’s crown should always be at least as wide as your cheekbones and the brim should never be wider than your shoulders.

11 11. If you are tall, consider wide brimmed hats and avoid small hats.

12 12. If you are short or have a small face, avoid large hats.

     13. If your face is long, consider wide brimmed hats and push the brim down further on your forehead. Narrow brims will only make your face appear longer.

     14. Remember that wide brimmed hats balance curvy figures.

     15. If your face is round, round or floppy brims will make your face appear even rounder. Instead, choose a hat with a high brim and/or an angular shape.

13 16. If you have an oval shaped face, you can wear most any hat, no matter what its shape.

14 17. As a general rule of balance, the more skin you are showing, the wider the brim of your hat can be.

15 18. The no white after Labor Day remains a steadfast rule even for millinery.

16 19. Very generally speaking, hat size decreases as the day progresses. Miss Manners has been quoted as saying, “If the hat looks like you built it, it may properly go to daytime functions; but if it looks as if it just landed in the hair (bits of netting, tiny feathers, sequins, etc.) it goes out at night.”

     20. Pairing a vintage hat with our modern clothing can work but sometimes only creates an oddly mismatched silhouette. Consider carefully and perhaps ask the opinion of a trusted friend before venturing out into the wide world with that 40's hat upon your head.

                                          The hat I was married in, will it do?
                                    White, broad, fake flowers in a tiny array.
                                    It’s old-fashioned, as stylish as a bedbug,
                                    but it suits to die in something nostalgic.
                                                       Anne Sexton

Tying her bonnet under her chin,
She tied her raven ringlets in;
But not alone in the silken snare
Did she catch her lovely floating hair,
For, tying her bonnet under her chin,
She tied a young man’s heart within.
From: The Love-Knot
Nora Perry (1832–1896)

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