Easter Hat..Some Tips for Royal Wedding Atttendees

My Easter bonnet, minus the chick's head.

First let me say Chicago is not a hat-wearing town in the sense that New York is. We're the tops when it comes to making hats. In fact, the Windy City is the only place in the U.S. where you can get a degree in millinery (the School of the Art Institute of Chicago), but wearing hats, if the wind doesn't blow it away,  is a trend that has yet to catch on.

That said, I was hoping that a severe recession would at least prompt more women to wear hats on Easter. No such luck! This is what I wore last year at Easter, just one of few women wearing hats. I attended a more traditional church on Sunday...while there was many lace head coverings, not too many hats. Darn.

Here's the back-story on mine. I just took my navy vintage hat and embellished it on Sunday morning. I bought the pipe cleaners at a 5&10 in St. Joseph, Michigan (a fun store if you're ever in the area). Cut those into 1/2 inch sections, and twisted them around the little panes on my matching netting. I put a bunch in the front, then more in the back for symmetry. I also wired a little yellow chick in the front.

Well, wouldn't you know that while I was putting the embellished hat on the display head, the hat fell to the floor and the chick's head snapped off? I tried using "glue pins" (a sewing type of glue) to put it back on. No dice. Even tried a bit of wire. No way, Jose.

But I wasn't about to undo what was done. So I just ended up wearing the hat even though the chick was headless. I hope children weren't traumatized looking at the chick. Actually, no one noticed until I told them. I got lots of compliments on my hat. Amazing, which led me to think about what lessons could be learned from the experience, especially for those attending the Royal Wedding on Friday. And they will be wearing lots of hats:

• Don't sweat the small stuff. And it's all small stuff. If you've done your best to look your best, how can you help it if Mother Nature suddenly unleashes a shower and you don't even have an umbrella with you? Nothing you can do but laugh. Oh, on that note, I would suggest carrying a small plastic bag, the grocery store variety, in your purse. Something you can put your hat into if necessary. You don't want the rain to ruin your expensive hat!
• Carry pins and safety pins with you. Stuff them in your little purse if you must, but they will come in handy for yourself and perhaps a friend.
• If you wear a hat, make sure your make-up looks great. Some milliners think you don't have to worry about your hair as much since your wearing a hat, but I disagree. Fuss about your hair too. Make sure it looks pretty too.
• Have fun. This falls in the "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" category.