If you love whimsical hats, these next few days are the best time of year. Not only is the Kentucky Derby — aka the unofficial American fancy hats convention — this weekend, but the theme for the Met Gala on May 7 is “Sunday Best,” in reference to the museum’s new “Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination” exhibit. And if the Catholic Church is known for anything (besides protecting sexual abusers and committing horrific colonialist acts) it’s fancy hats.
For the Kentucky Derby at least, people have already spent weeks obsessing over the cranial couture. Media outlets are recounting the best and worst hats from races past while hat makers are advertising their best offerings for nationwide Derby-watching parties. Meanwhile, the hattery surprises the Met Gala promises won’t be revealed until the night of, but I expect at least one person to reference the evergreen African American church lady look.
No matter what happens, I urge everyone to come away with a greater lesson: We shouldn’t need any excuse to wear a big, fancy hat. They bring a smile to everyone’s face, but in the days of beanie dominance, wide-brimmed, over-the-top, sculptural pieces are all too formal and rare. I want to see fancy hats at the grocery store, fancy hats ahead of me at the drive-thru, fancy hats on everyone who works at my doctor’s office. Hell, I’d even welcome a big hat at the movie theater, granted it’s whimsical enough.
Alas, the dream of an America where people can walk around in a fancy hat without judgement is still a distant one (as expertly illustrated in the 1961 P.D. Eastman book Go, Dog. Go! in which a fancy hat-wearing dog is repeatedly shamed for her daring hat choices until one particularly garish one finally lands her a man). But as the fancy hats roll out this weekend (as they will inevitably again for the royal wedding later this month) allow yourself to be inspired to take charge of your own headwear expression. Fancy hats aren’t for special occasions. They’re for any time, and they go great with a pair of sweatpants.
