Wear a Hat

“The right hat may enliven our imagination of the past, an old-fashioned cloche, a picture hat or a toque trimmed with a pouf of polka dotted veiling is just enough to make us feel as if we were living in another romantic age.”

I bet you thought I was going to title the blog post “Wear a Mask”. I am tired of thinking about masks, and MAGA hats, about numbers of deaths from COVID 19 and the terrible inequality that exists in our country. I want to be transported to another time and place. What about the movies and iconic hats in film through the decades?

Remember Audrey Hepburn’s black chapeau du matin in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) with the long silk scarf as a headband reflecting the drama and mystery of Holly Golightly’s chararacter. Or Faye Dunaway’s signature beret in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) a nod to the French new wave films of the early 1960’s. Julie Christie sparked a fashion revolution known as the Zhivago look marked by fur hats from the film Dr. Zhivago in 1965.

What about Audrey Hepburn’s character Eliza Doolittle’s colossal chapeau worn to the Ascot racecourse after her makeover. (This hat was sold at auction in 2011 along with her dress for 3.7 million dollars after being in Debbie Reynolds costume collection.) Reminiscent was Julia Roberts’ Pretty Woman low crowned straw hat with polka dot silk headband to match her brown and white polka dot dress worn to the races. I loved everything about that 1990 film, especially Julia Roberts and Richard Gere.

One of my favorite movies of all time was Woody Allen’s Annie Hall. I was especially fond of Diane Keaton’s big brimmed bowler, the men’s-wear inspired look that came out of her own closet (1977). Another favorite movie of mine was Love Story with Ali McGraw. I was in my last year of college in 1970 and emulated her funky look with the knit beanie hat (also from her own closet), and effortless sense of style.

But who can forget Ingrid Bergman and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca in 1942. His classic fedora and her alluring picture hat rendered the scene at the airport unforgettable. My mom had told me that women purchased hats in the 1940’s to look chic but also to forget about the war! Millinery shops were extremely popular at that time.

Other iconic hats from films abound, such as Anne Hathaway’s stylish newsboy cap in the Devil Wears Prada in 2006 and way back in 1929 Louise Brooks’ Pandora’s Box with her bobbed haircut and cloche bell shaped hat emblematic of the roaring twenties. She became the eternal “It” girl of the flapper era.

Personally, I always loved hats. I kind of have a hat face–my sister used to call it wide and Slavic ( from our Polish/Russian background). Lilly Dache, a French born milliner who established a flourishing hat business in the U.S. with her made-to-order creations summed it up as follows:

“A hat is an expression of a woman’s soul. It is something that she wears on her head, but it belongs to her heart. It is the keynote of her personality, the finishing touch that makes her look beautiful, smart and sure of herself.”

Wearing a hat is a bold statement, especially for me. Let me explain why. When I was married, my husband was very critical and judgmental. I recall an incident when we were about to meet another couple to spend a beautiful autumn day outdoors at an art/craft show. I had chosen a jaunty hat which matched my outfit and was looking forward to the outing. George took one look, and stated, “you’re not leaving the house in that hat, are you?” Crestfallen, I removed the hat and proceeded to have an awful day. It was my own fault. I did not have the voice in those days, or the confidence to answer “Yes, I have every intention of wearing the hat. Sorry if you don’t like it!”

That would never happen today as clearly I found my voice when I chose to divorce him at age 52. Subsequent to the divorce, I purchased an entire wardrobe of hats which I wear proudly and often.

Clearly, hats are functional as well, especially in summertime as protection from the harmful rays of the sun, from changing your hair color to a garish orange or in my case turning the silvers to a brassy blonde. Hats are a great way to experiment with prints and embellishments, as some accents look better in small quantities. So try a zebra print or color blocked bucket hat, a tie dyed purple floppy brim hat, a lime green woven hat or a distressed pink baseball cap. Maybe, just maybe, it will transport you to another place and time and take your mind off the present! XO Penny