Whatever happened to hats?

My grandmother was a hatmaker and had a shop in Mary Street, Dublin. I remember her coming upstairs in our house, trailing felt, ribbons and bits of veil. Just that one memory from the 1950s.

Calendargirl

It’s a good job both Camilla and Catherine look great in a hat.

I’m not keen on Camilla’s choice of hats personally.

Allira

What to do with old but lovely mother of the bride or groom hats?

I kept my mother-of-the-bride hat just in case I ever got invited to a garden party at Buckingham Palace. Alas, no invitation has ever been forthcoming. I haven't been to Cheltenham or Ascot either.

Yes, I often wear a sun hat in summer.

I have worn my M-o-B hat at our local River Festival, Bank Holiday Weekend and Carnival, adds a little glam to the Tombola & Ferret Racing

😁
Perhaps I should do that and cause a stir!

I love a hat & wear a fedora - black or navy depending on coat I'm wearing - & a panama in the summer. I've got loads of wedding hats I'm boxes, I can't bear to throw them out. I get them out & try them on occasionally & DDSs used to love dressing up with them when they were small. I had a massive one for DDs first wedding but was told a fascinator was all that was required second time around! Most disappointing!

My mum and gran suffered with thin hair. They loved hats because they could go out with confidence. I also have thin hair but hats are out of date so I don't have that choice.

I wear hats. In the sunlight I have to to protect my face and neck due to skin cancer. I wear a hat when it is cold to keep myself warm.
I have been looking for a nice summer and a nice winter hat for several years now. Men's hats come in various sizes. I used to be able to buy nice hats as they always had different sizes. Now, generally, it's one size fits all. I do not have a football head. If I wanted to wear a bucket I would choose one of the selection I have at home.

yogitree

London Fashion Week recently showcased various headwear, whimsical hats etc.

coveteur.com/london-fashion-week-fall-winter-2026-trends#:~:text=It%27s%20been%20a%20big%20week,collaboration%20portion%20of%20the%20collection.

(Not hats) but how amazing those Emilia Wickstead garments are!
I haven't looked at the LFW collections yet.

Witzend

I remember an elderly great-aunt (died in the 60s) who’d absolutely never go out without a hat. And in novels set in the 40s/50s I’ve read of an old lady who wore a hat for a tea party (she belonged to a generation that still thought it correct) and someone’s cook who wore hers indoors all the time, inc. while making pastry!

A snippet I love from a Trollope novel (Victorian) has a character telling the lady he is taking out for dinner, ‘A lot of ladies dine there. You can dine in your bonnet.’ 😂

One of the many many things I hate about the so-called "Trad Wives" influencers is that they cook/bake/preserve food with their long hair loose round their faces.

I worked briefly in a store cafe and had to wear a hairnet even though I was just dish-washing.

But most of these 'trad wives' have side hustles telling the world how trad they are and raking in $$$$$

I have the skin of a red head so wear wide brimmed hats to protect my face from the sun. Of my 2 favorites, one, a green linen one had a quilted brim and a man once crossed the road to compliment me! The other hat we made of paper!!. I still have that one but the brim developed a water stain after water got on it somehow so I will have to drape an old scarf round it.... In winter, living in the North Isles, I choose from a variety of knitted, felted and velvet hats and sometimes wear 2 at a time!! I have turned into my grandma.... We thought she may have worn a hat in bed as well as for every outing...

M0nica

But most of these 'trad wives' have side hustles telling the world how trad they are and raking in $$$$$

I see a lot of them on Reddit, all parroting the same messages, almost the same words; almost like they are paid propagandists.

Be Christian
Marry young
Submit to your husband
Have lots of children
Dress modestly
Don't work outside the house

They post posed pictures of them and their children if they have them, posing in white dresses and barefooted with various farm-animals.

But yeah, it's mainly click or rage bait nontent.