by Maria C Collins

Created on: June 27, 2008

Have hats ever gone out of fashion? Not for me, I adore hats and wear them at every opportunity. I do not own as many hats as I would like, as a nice hat can be rather expensive.

Hats finish an outfit as anyone who watched the recent television coverage of Ladies' Day at Royal Ascot could testify. There were many beautiful and elegant outfits and so many lovely and imaginative hats. The addition of a hat to a casual outfit can add a little "je ne sais quoi" which lifts the outfit out of the ordinary.

Hats can make you feel good. I have a beautiful bright red hat with a wide brim, which has an enormous black feather sticking out of the band. I originally bought it for a family wedding and teamed it with a navy pin striped suit, red stiletto shoes and a red handbag. I felt a million dollars. This hat always gives me confidence and cheers me up and when I wear it to an occasion it makes me feel properly dressed and self-assured, although, usually, I am quite a shy person. I have even put this hat on sometimes indoors all on my own on bad days just to give me a lift and it always does.

Your hair can sometimes let you down, mine always goes frizzy if the air is damp, and a hat covers a multitude of sins and looks great.

When the weather is cold, you can lose a third of your body heat from the top of your head. Doctors recommend that especially babies, very young children and the elderly wear hats in cold weather, but a hat can keep everyone warmer. In addition, winter hats are usually in such bright cheerful colors, which cheer everyone's day on those cold dark winter days.

A sunhat on those bright warm summer days is essential for everyone, especially children and babies and anyone who is balding. Summer hats come in lots of styles to suit even the most discerning person.

Where I live in France hats are worn more regularly than in my birth country, England. I do not mean special occasion hats but everyday hats. Both men and women wear hats on a regular basis. I love to see a man in a trilby or a panama hat.

Probably because the summers here are very hot, the air is very clear so they are necessary then to prevent your brain from frying. Winters can also get very cold so hats are worn then too. For a greater part of the year, therefore, people wear hats from necessity and so are used to wearing them. It is a small leap from needing to wear a hat to wearing one just because you want to be individual. I could wear a hat every day here if I wanted to and no one would think it odd or strange, Paradise on Earth for someone who enjoys hats as much as I do.

Learn more about this author, Maria C Collins.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.