Phat Hats

“If you could be a hat which one would you be?’

After many weeks of looking down at the southern regions at the spring shows, I feel it is the perfect time to take a look at what goes on above the eye. Its mid-October, starting to get cold outside, and now is the time to add some thicker textiles to your tresses. Today on the Fashion Hunter, we will hash-out hats and their multidimensional roles. For one, they are super stylish, are the perfect accessory for topping off an outfit, but they also allow us to get away with not doing our hair on these crisp fall mornings. Sinatra, Lennon, or Annie Hall, you can channel a certain persona to the world. Ping! So whether you are a fitted cloche kind of girl, prefer a classic felt fedora worn by rabbinical beings, baseball caps when they appear outside of Yankee Stadium, the cozy beanie hat, a must-have accessory for the grungy urbanite, or the ubiquitous pom-pom variety, there is a hat for you.

Armani Exchange floppy brim hat,  Stella McCartney wool beanie, New York Yankees baseball cap, TopShop Pom Pom hat (get a Mulberry grey version here), San Diego Hat Company wool cloche.

As evidenced by the prose above, I intend to define your look, simply by the type of hat you wear. A hat is a “highly expressive product designed to communicate a wearer’s identity, gender, occupation, mood, and favorite sport.” This is a tall order to subject anyone to the confines of the hat on their head, but it’s just my speculation.

What team are you rooting for? C’mon Yankees, I know Jeter’s out, but we’ve made it thus far!

While the term “borrowed from the boys” continues to rule the runways with wingtips, baggy jeans, and blazers, newsboys and bowler hats seen at Ralph Lauren fall 2012, the masculine cues come from the reinvented floppy Stetson. Dunaway looks make a grand entrance. Seen at Rachel Roy and Mara Hoffman, they are for the extroverted type who conveniently place themselves in the front seat to be, well, noticed. Rabbinic-chic emulation right here. On the other side of the spectrum, keeping it close to the vest, the wool beanie is more introverted chic. Underneath all that wool there’s hidden information “I know something you don’t know and you’ll have to dig deep to find out.”  On the bottom left a cute, simple pom-pom variety which tends to lead to a smiley, happy-go-lucky girl with a can-do attitude that just drank the most delicious cup of joe. It’s the “cuteness” that says it all. Bottom right, the bell-shaped cloche, seen this season at Lacoste, was haute in the 1960’s, and resurged in 2007, and today, signifies a bona fide flirt. Often affixed with a ribbon or a belt, it is the cloche that will get you the date, not the profile picture on Facebook. The impact is in the clean lines that frame the face, the hair, and the lips. Buyers beware!

And last but not least, the baseball cap. New Yorkers could have guess that the Yankees would be good for something, (sorry Mets fans), so why not grab that cap and route for your team! For men, they need that sense of belonging, like a uniform, to a team. And when baseball caps make it onto runways–you can thank Rihanna for bringing it close to home, and Kenzo and House of Holland for supplying the goods.

I, on the other hand am having a Sinatra-like felt fedora moment right now. They say a larger hat brim suggests “masculine fierceness” by “enlarging the brows” therefore is a sign of strength. I like feeling more approachable and feminine than tough and masculine, but I am embracing the masculine/feminine tension going on right now in fashion. Or maybe its the testosterone in the air. Regardless, I wear many hats and they all show off  the different sides of my personality. Call me a chameleon.

 Hat Attack grey felt fedora, Urban Outfitters squirrel sweatshirt, Current/Elliot boyfriend jeans, Rag & Bone Newbury Boots, Clare Vivier foldover clutch.

Now let’s back to the focal point of the story, and put your thinking caps on for the final question: Are you going to give the fedora a try? The Dunaway? Tell me. Inquiring minds want to know.