a different type of hat

It’s next to impossible to find a hat if you’re under 12.  I’m not talking about baseball caps or beach hats.  I’m talking about the fancy adornment one wears to a luncheon.  The fashion hat.  So why the lament?  Because the end of July marks the horse trials at Fitch’s Corner.   It’s a delightful affair for horse and non horse lovers alike.   Part of the weekend festivities include a spectator luncheon where ladies, men and children all don fashion hats.

This year we decided to attend the luncheon with friends.  It was an easy commute as I was showing our children’s special occasion dresses in the tented market area.   Outfits were selected, shoes were judged, jewelry was pinned and hat boxes came out.  Slowly, outfits were assembled for my husband, my eldest daughter and me.  Everyone except my youngest daughter.  She had her dress, her shoes, a charming bracelet, everything except a hat.  Since I planned on being in The City the week before the luncheon, I wasn’t overly concerned.  I was sure to find something for her to wear.   Indeed, there were a variety of hats, but nothing worth buying.   It was one of those sweltering summer afternoons and I gave up after 3 stores.  The day before the luncheon, I was still hat-less.  My niece, who was visiting to help out with the show gave me a brilliant idea.  Why not take a silk flower from one of my children’s special occasion dresses, attach it to a matching hair bow, use the just a wisp communion veil, throw in a few bobby pins and voila…a chic chapeau.

To be fair, my daughter had her doubts.  I pulled out some of my more delicate cocktail affairs (wisps of tulle rather than structured affairs).  It helped a little but she still wasn’t fully embracing the concept.  Bottom line, she wanted a conventional hat.  However, my daughter received a lesson in style.   While it’s easy to wear the conventional, the memorable is usually the unusual.  It’s the way the elements are put together that creates the effect.  That coupled with the right attitude creates a sublime effect.   At least that’s what the photographer told her as he asked to take her picture.

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