‘I wear my hat upon my head, I wear my hat upon my hair, I wear it here, I wear it there, my hat and I go everywhere’ – sing the kids in their school. The hat is a versatile accessory and very useful at that. It can be worn for various reasons, be it weather, ceremonies, religious purposes, safety, or even as a fashion accessory. Earlier, a hat used to be an indicator of social status. The military hats denote nationality, rank, branch of service and regiment.
One of the first pictorial depictions of a hat appears in Egypt in a tomb painting from Thebes, that shows a man wearing a conical straw hat. This picture, dated around 3200 BC, was an indicator of early use of head accessories. Ancient Mesopotamians have been known to wear conical hats or ones shaped like an inverted vase. Hats became quite common after the 3000 BC. The
Venus of Willendorf figurine depicted a woman wearing a woven hat, though some experts believe it to be her hair. A bronze age man whose body was found frozen in a mountain between Austria and Italy, where he’d been since 3250 BC, was found wearing bearskin cap with a chin strap, made of several hides stitched together, basically resembling a Russian fur hat without the flaps.
The Phrygian cap was worn by freed
slaves in Greece and Rome. This hat became iconic in America during the Revolutionary War and French Revolution, as a symbol of the struggle for liberty against the monarchy. Hats were also donned by women since ages. During the Middle Ages, hats for women ranged from simple scarves to elaborate hennin that denoted social status. By the first half of the 19th century, women wore bonnets that were fashionably large and were decorated with ribbons, feathers and gauze trims. By the 1920s, women started cutting their hair short hence they chose hats that were close and hugged the head like a helmet. The extravagant hats made a comeback in the 21st century and some hats were so beautifully designed that they were called “wearable sculpture”.
Pairing a hat with your dress is not difficult. If you are wearing it during winters, it will probably be with a coat, a cardigan or scarf. Just make sure the color of the hat is a generic one so it can go with all your outfits during the season. The color can depend on the season also. Wear a bright colored hat during winters, but go for a light shade in spring. Pair it with a light flow dress and a denim jacket and you’re good to go. There are many hats available such as the sun hat, Fedora, Bucket cap and Trilby amongst others. Choose the perfect hat to suit your dress, face cut and hair style from beverlyheels.com.
