Okay, you guys, can we talk hats for just a moment?  Recently, I went to one of Mister’s orchestra concerts and I decided that it was the perfect time to put on a hat.  I got a few funny looks and a lot of compliments for throwing on a cute wool cloche, and realized that I was the only one there in a hat.  I wondered – what happened to hats?  Winter is the perfect time for it.

There have been a few hat posts recently, including this gem from Michelle of Wicked Whimsy (though the post is actually on Dramatis Personae), and this fun piece at  Chinashop, in which Gala says, “Revise… hats”.   I’m not going to go over all the values of hats – What I have here is a list of ‘ze hats I loooove!  OH JOY!

This first little number is from Modcloth, and it’s perfect for an afternoon at the museum, or a night out on the town:

Put a vintage spin on it with something like this velvet WAC cap by BoringSydney on Etsy:

I’m sure I’ve featured this Etsy seller before – but her hats are so cute and affordable for handmade wool cloches:

And if you’re looking for something a little fancier, these hats by Yellowfield 7 are DIVINE:

What would I wear these hats with?  A little flounce skirt and a cute sweater, tucked in; my Spun boatneck, boots and leggings; a Deco Modiste A-line pocket skirt, a button shirt, and a cardigan over top; skinnies, a little blazer and some wedges… there are so many possibilities.  As Michelle said in her post on Dramatis Personae:

How to wear: Personally, I think these hats look best with a clean, sharp silhouette. A tailored pair of pants, some brogues, a vest over a solid-color top & a top hat would make a great menswear inspired outfit; or you could wear an a-line skirt or full skirt with a fitted top and some heels. Simple, but the addition of a hat will make it eye-catching.

It’s important to care for your felted hats – since they do get better with age, you want to be able to wear them and still get the most out of your purchase.  Hat boxes are great for storing your hats – and keeping them from getting dented or dusty.  I stuff mine with tissue to keep the shape, and I use enough tissue that it sits up off the brim.   If you don’t have a hatbox, you can pick up boxes for reams of paper (like at Office Depot) and set the hats in there side by side.   I try to make sure my hands are clean when handling the hat for storage, and since I get major hat hair when wearing a hat, I generally don’t put much goo in my ‘do – so as not to ruin the material with product.  Scotchguard isn’t a bad idea to treat hats so that they repel stains and water, and some people recommend cleaning the sweat band inside the hat with a mild soapy solution.   This site has recommendations for hat care, and they say to be careful when cleaning the sweat band, so that the soapy solution doesn’t discolor the hat.

If you want to see more hats I’m super fond of, you can view them here, via the Wishpot widget, or on my Wishpot, as I continue to add hats I love.  (I also <3 Wishpot!)

What do you think?  Are you into the hat craze?  Can we bring back the hat?!