[Hat tip (literally): Vanderleun at American Digest.]
It’s not easy to look good in a hat, although it helps to be beautiful to begin with, and to have classic features and well-defined cheekbones. Hats used to be part of most people’s regular prescribed attire, fancy ones for the rich and caps and scarfs and wimplish things for the laborers and peasants.
No more. The hat has mostly disappeared, except for the ubiquitous baseball cap, sometimes word backwards, and the balaclava for ski outings and other bitterly cold days.
But every year the decorative and ceremonial hat makes a reappearance at the Ascot horse races in England. And not just a revival, an outburst of enthusiastic creativity and commentary, all the more exuberant for having been so long pent-up.
Here’s a site devoted to some of the more memorable from this year’s event. I reproduce a few below:
Previously a lifelong Democrat, born in New York and living in New England, surrounded by liberals on all sides, I've found myself slowly but surely 
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:01 pm
At least in the profile given the last female in silver is nice looking. It would be interesting to see if it looked as nice from other angles (not to mention she is quite pretty too).
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:05 pm
We’re here for you.
June 22nd, 2010 at 3:19 pm
Mahvelous, dahling!
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Awful to see how badly Prince Phillip looks. Although it comes to all of us.
June 22nd, 2010 at 4:52 pm
Camilla did not disappoint: she look like a medieval herald that was hunting all day, used reinforcements from a the flask a few times and then lost the trumpet somewhere in the woods.
Englishwomen, on the whole, demonstrated total lack of taste – but they tried hard to compensate with sense of humor…not always successful.
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:00 pm
To those who haven’t seen it: here.
June 22nd, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Awful to see how badly Prince Phillip looks. Although it comes to all of us.
Anyone who is alive at 89 is doing pretty well.
June 22nd, 2010 at 6:47 pm
Anyone who is alive at 89 is doing pretty well.
Yes. Just looks like he won’t be around for much longer. I feel sorry for the Queen when that happens.
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:42 pm
I do kind of like the wing hat.
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:53 pm
“The hat has mostly disappeared, except for the ubiquitous baseball cap, sometimes word backwards, and the balaclava for ski outings and other bitterly cold days. ”
sorta, but not exactly. Still see cowboy hats in the rural areas (and urban bars), but many of the redneck/cowpoke types wear baseball caps now too.
Last week, (or was it week before last?), my full brimmed hat that i have had since about 92 or 93 finally died. It was windy, and I went to pull it down and it ripped where the brim hits the part that goes over your head. Well, broke in-very deformed-got wet a number of times. Was white at one point, but had brown stains from staining a privacy fence, chicken blood from trying to catch a chicken that was bleeding(he got in a fight with another bird-so they had to be separated-they can be quite territorial), and just stains from overall use .
I got another one -but i miss the old broke in one.
June 22nd, 2010 at 8:54 pm
I meant 2002 or 2003- wrong decade- how times flies!
June 22nd, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Neo, I think you could pull it off, though I’m not sure what role the apple would play. I see something like this Jennifer Connelly lid from Paris Vogue for you:
http://media.onsugar.com/files/upl1/12/128548/22_2008/fab_3936.jpg
June 22nd, 2010 at 10:17 pm
Wow! I never knew Sean Penn was into swans!
June 22nd, 2010 at 10:35 pm
LAG: yes, Jennifer Connelly and I are practically twins
.
June 23rd, 2010 at 6:26 am
The yarmulke is always in style.
June 23rd, 2010 at 9:06 am
I always wear a fedora. It is practical, as it keeps both the sun and rain off, and rakish, thus stylish – or as stylish as I can possibly be at my age. The only real drawback is that it goes airborne in a good wind and that whole “stylish” thing goes down the tubes when I find myself chasing my hat across fields, roads, creeks, and into the nearest woods. It’s hard to maintain one’s dignity when chasing one’s hat down the street.
June 23rd, 2010 at 1:55 pm
The balaklava is today used primarily by people committing violent acts desirous of anonymity.
The headgear displayed brings to mind, “vulgar”. On European heads, of course.