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Hat over heels 2014
When people wore hats every day, I imagine women were as skilled at choosing the right hat as they were at finding the right shade of lipstick. Not anymore.

Last Easter weekend, I was in an exquisite hat shop in Eureka Springs, Arkansas where I observed a few women trying on hats. “Does this look good on me?” they asked each other. How well I know the feeling! More often than not, I choose what looks interesting to me—not necessarily what suits me.

Even the most enthusiastic hat wearers today generally don’t have a lot of experience selecting a hat that compliments their unique features. I’ve been thinking about that since I bought my tickets to what is becoming one of my favorite rites of the season, the Hats Off Luncheon, hosted by the Fashion Arts Society of the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

This year, the event is on May 8, so get your tickets now. It’s a great excuse to don a hat in a delightfully expected way. (By that, I mean no one will gawk at you as though you’re daft simply because you’re wearing a hat!)

Bird

Lest you think this is strictly a serious, lah-tee-dah event…

Last year was my first, and I was enthralled to see toppers of every kind, including many worn by their makers. (Here’s my recap from last year.) This year’s event, dubbed Hat Over Heels, has a shoe undercurrent—or should I call it a toehold? Holy high heel, Batman, that’s going to be like two giant stars colliding—the shoe aficionados and the hat-o-philes.

The bonus is a free lecture, The Heights of Fashion: A Short History of the High Heel, presented by Elizabeth Semmelhack. Ms. Semmelhack is Senior Curator of the Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto, Canada. The lecture starts at 11 a.m. in The Toby, followed by lunch in the Deer Zink Events Pavilion. Here’s where you can purchase tickets.

You’re Invited!
Who’s coming with me? Anyone? I haven’t decided on a hat yet. And shoes? Well, who knows? Things can only get so exciting in my shoe department, due to the requirement for narrow widths. That’s probably a bloody good thing—one less thing to drain my pocketbook.

With the event just a few weeks away, the timing seems perfect to share just a few tips for selecting a hat that flatters you most, plus some great resources for wearing, making and buying hats. I’ll show you the winners and losers in my collection, in hopes you can learn from my mistakes.

Stay tuned. That’s my next post.

How do you choose a hat? I’d love to know your hat-shopping secrets.

Life is short. Wear the good stuff.