The essential function of a hat is to protect the head from the sun or the cold, and to shade the eyes from the sun. At the beginning of the 20th century, it was customary for men and women to wear hats. Women in particular wore elaborately ornamental hats decorated with feathers, flowers, ribbons and other strictly artistic adornments that did not enhance the function of the hat. Changes in transportation, hygiene, and hair all contributed to the decline of hat wearing beginning in the 1960s. As most people spent less time outdoors and with the advent of public transportation, hats were no longer needed for protection on a daily basis. As sunglasses became widely available and were no longer exclusively the province of vision-impaired individuals, wearing hats to shield ones eyes from the sun became unnecessary. In the 1950's, hair washes were weekly instead of the daily ones that we do today, and a hat was necessary to keep the dust and dirt away. Finally, the hair fashions of the 1960's and 70's meant that even men cared more about their hair and how it looked. In the golden age of hats, men typically had trimmed hair in order to ensure that extraneous strands of hair over their forehead would not stick out from underneath their hat. As men started to care more for how their hair looked and both men and women began to wear their hair longer and fluffier, the less reason there was to wear a hat that might crush or mess up their 'do. It is interesting to note that back when men wore hats, it was considered subversive to not wear hats. Now, it's the people that wear hats that give the impression that they're going against the grain.
With certain exceptions (like church hats and the Kentucky Derby), Americans had mostly forgotten the concept of occasion headwear until very recently. This brings me back to the recent wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the ensuing mania over the hats worn by the wedding guests, most notably Princess Beatrice's bizarre Philip Treacy chapeau. Now hats and headwear are officially back.
I've always been a fan of covering my head in as many different ways as possible- hair accessories, caps, scarves, and all sorts of toppers ranging functional to purely decorative. Fedora, Pillbox, Beret, Fascinator, scarf, scarf + hat, wig hat, hair piece, you name it I've worn it on my head. From time to time I like to wrap a scarf over my hair, top it with a fedora and finish it off with some sunglasses. If everything is black this gives you an air of celebrity. People sneak glances and whisper, thinking you must be 'someone'. I saw a lady wearing a very nice straw fedora over a scarf and some sunglasses recently- on a very hot day, no less. But have you ever been to an outdoor concert and thrown a towel over your head? I have, and sometimes covering up can actually keep you cooler. She certainly looked cool. Recently I attended the Psychobilly Luau at The Bell House in Brooklyn. Virtually every female in attendance was sporting an elaborate flower hair clip like the ones designed by the event organizer Laura Rebel Angel for her line Dollsville NYC. If a hair accessory is large and elaborate enough it can be considered a fascinator. A head piece can make an outfit. Take a simple black dress, add a 1920s style sequined headband with a feather or two and some great shoes and you've got your New Year's Eve outfit. I'm getting married at the end of this year, and one thing I'm not worried about is my outfit - or outfits, rather. I know a great hat will pull everything together. I'm thinking that for the wedding banquet I need something like this piece by Alberto Friere to compliment the ubiquitous Mandarin dress.
You can really get creative and turn anything into hair ornaments. One afternoon last summer the cutest girl I had seen all day passed before my eyes, one of the inspirations for creating this blog. The young lady had a lovely puff of curls gathered up on top of her head and pinned all over the front of her hairdo were fabric flowers in a riot of colors and shapes and sizes. You can be your own inspiration - just pick up a pack of bobby pins, grab a scissor, and see what you can put on your head!
