A Fantastic Hat

Is this not the best hat ever?

It's a tiny little black straw hat, worn tipped to one side. Out of the 4-inch brim grows a conical part that is open at the top, with this wonderful arch of curving, unfinished straw fibers crowning the hat.

It comes from hatmakers named Ignatius Hats, who had a booth at the American Craft Exposition at Northwestern this weekend. They were the most patient, kind young men, who looked on indulgently as people played with their hats, tried them on, giggled, and tried on some more.

My daughter and my husband convinced me to try on a hat, and it was perfect. Mine is a dark brown straw, sort of like a flapper's cloche but with this incredible swooping piece that flares out to the side. I was too shy to model it for its portrait, but I am including a picture in another post so that you can see what a truly great hat it is. I asked for this utterly silly hat for my birthday.

And as he was paying, I noticed three tiny, Parisian, beautiful hats on the counter. My daughter tried one on, and hers was perfect too. So she also came home with a hat. She put it on immediately and wore it around the rest of the craft exposition. Vendors and customers smiled, and an older gentleman observed her, nodded, and declared in a sage manner: "Young lady, that's perfect."