Blacks Hats are the Dreamiest

My equivalent of a little black dress -- something you wear to feel OK about the world -- is the black hat. There were some dreamy hats shown during the Spring/ Summer 2012 shows in Europe.

At Balenciaga:

My sister was perusing Style.com and sent me a photo of this hat poking fun at it -- not knowing I had already bookmarked it for my Wish List.

A.F. Vandevorst had some gorgeous tall creations

that you should not wear to the theater.

Oh I wish they had used a white backdrop for those of us who did not go to the show and struggle with looking at a photo of black on black.

Armani wins for the most universally classic hat.

This is one I know my sister and my mother would wear, and if my grandmother were still with us she would wear it to church.

The most exciting hat was from Moschino.

I have a matador hat (a gift from the sister who will make fun of me when I try to recreate Balenciaga) and I cannot wait to break it out this Spring when I can wear flimsy dresses and bare legs.

The question is, do I really need one more black hat?

I have so many.

But you know, they, like the inspiration

behind them, are so different.

The sailor cap:

(I wore this when I took a baby to a bar.)

The flower hat:

(Which seemed appropriate for taking my nephew to the food court.)

The nod to the early 1900's:

The wide-brimmed felt hat:

The tiny beret:

(Mine is a children's hat from the 1930's,

ergo a hat pin is very necessary, as my head is huge.)

The classic animal ears hat:

A très masculin hat:

There's the straw summer hat:

(Which I wore to see the immensely entertaining comedian Pete Holmes.)

The sun- shielder to keep you properly pale:

I try not to play favorites, but the bowler hat

is clearly my preferred choice.

When I saw Cabaret in high school it led to an obsession with Joel Grey, that haircut and bowler hats. Unfortunately at such an awkward time of my life I should have skipped my attempt at the hair cut and just bought the hat.

Years later I put Ashley 1st in one when I styled

her for a show at Sullivan Hall.

She looked so 'Masculin, Féminin' sexy in it I went out and bought one the next day.

We have been inseparable ever since.

So back to my question, do I really need one more black hat (and these are barely half of them)? Obviously, the answer is always, 'yes.' And I promise if I ever get my hands on the Balenciaga, I will not wear it in the presence of my sister.