Wednesday 1 December 2010

Hats (a cheery subject for a cold day)


Talking of weddings (well, a lot of people seem to be) I just love hats. I'm not a dressy person; I spend most of my life in jeans. But hats - they're different. There's something splendid about hats, but all too few occasions upon which I can wear one.
Here in Devizes we have a magnificent hat-hire shop. Inside this charming, low-beamed building there is an entire rainbow of hats; big, small, fluffy, flowery - you name it, Joan has got it. You bring in your outfit, and she finds you the hat. And she's alway right. Having found the hat, she will attach little bit of things - feathers and other fripperies - to match, say, your shoes.
But sadly, apart from a niece's wedding next year (that will be a big hat day), there will be no other occasion in the forseeable future for me to visit Joan and her hats. The only other hat occasion I can think of is a royal garden party, and I would really hate to go to one of those (if anyone royal is reading this, please don't take offence; just invite someone else instead). The idea of having to dress up and trawl into London to have posh tea with hundreds (or is it thousands?) of strangers fills me with horror. That, and the fact that the hat would probably get squashed on the train (well, you can't wear a big hat on a train, can you? There's hardly room for the passengers, without hats).
Never mind. Just remember; if you are in the South West, and need a hat, Joan's your woman. Oh, and please can I come with you to help choose it?

11 comments:

  1. Not brilliant on hats. What I really want the chance to wear is a fascinator. Just for the name alone!!

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  2. Alis - I wore one of those to a son's wedding (it was in Italy, and I was in a long posh frock, and a hat would have been a bit over the top). It (the fascinator) was very fetching, but I still prefer hats. I think you'd look great in a hat as you're tall.

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  3. I love hats, but hats don't like me at all. Very glad of my woolly one at the moment though!

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  4. I'm a hat guy and I wear them pretty well. Cowboy hats, fedoras, panama hats, Alpine hats, gatsby hats, ball caps...

    Unfortunately, my hair is also easily messed up by hats and slow to recover, so I don't wear them as often as I should...

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  5. Teresa - aren't you wearing a hat in your photo??

    Hi Nevets - I thought you'd disappeared! But I'm sure you look wonderful in hats of all kinds! As for messed up hair, there's something called "hat hair"; those of us who ride get it every time we take off a riding hat. So, hat hair's what you've got.

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  6. Aside from suggesting that you create a local Hat Day or Hat Luncheon, I can only add this excerpt from Monthy Python's "Meaning of Life":

    [Large corporate boardroom filled with suited executives]

    Exec #1: Item six on the agenda: "The Meaning of Life" Now uh, Harry, you've had some
    thoughts on this.

    Exec #2: Yeah, I've had a team working on this over the past few weeks, and what we've come up with can be reduced to two fundamental concepts.

    One: People aren't wearing enough hats.

    Two: Matter is energy. In the universe there are many energy fields which we cannot normally perceive. Some energies have a spiritual source which act upon a person's soul. However, this "soul" does not exist ab initio as orthodox Christianity teaches; it has to be brought into existence by a process of guided self-observation. However, this is rarely achieved owing to man's unique ability to be distracted from spiritual matters by everyday trivia.

    Exec #3: What was that about hats again?

    Exec #2: Oh, Uh... people aren't wearing enough.

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  7. OS "monty" not "monthy." Them little digits ain;t been workin' so well lately.

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  8. Hat hair is an awfully innocuous name for something that so dreadfully cuts to the quick of those of us who color ourself vain.

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  9. We Brits are made of sterner stuff than you lot, Nevets.

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  10. When you keep a stiff-enough upper lip, no one notices your messy hair.

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