Ok. So what do my mother and the
Kentucky Derby have in common? Answer: Both are overflowing with hats!
When
invited to a gathering of Derby devotees, my initial reaction was, “Do I have to
wear a hat?” Aside from my Tractor Supply baseball cap, I’m not much of a hat
girl and the thought of being stuck in something frilly all afternoon did a number on my head. (Of course, when
it comes to Derby gatherings, hats are supposed to do a number on your
head. That's the whole point of the Derby, is it not?)
The good
news is, when launching my search for a fancy fedora, I had but one call
to make. For when it comes to hats, my mother is the high priestess of
headwear.
From my
earliest childhood memories I can honestly say my mother never attended church
without a hat on her head. And not just any hat, mind you. A picture-perfect,
color-coordinated sombrero of style, tailored to match any and every outfit
(most of them hand made for her by her mother-- my Sweet Gran).
Whether her love for hat couture was
instilled at birth (her paternal grandmother was a milliner --a
Northern-born, enterprising hat designer who settled in Tennessee to marry my
grandfather’s father)…or if it was because Mom was en vogue and enthralled with the whole Jackie O
pill-box era (and actually looked a lot like Jackie O), MOM LOVES HATS. So asking, “May I come shop in your closet?” was like asking the Mad
Hatter if he was up for a spot of tea.
More intriguing than the hats, were
the stories and the memories…Keep in mind, my mother, (like me) is forever losing car keys, and
probably to this day can’t tell you her own cell phone number, but you show her
a hat and she’ll recount every detail of the outfit it went with, the event for
which it was designed and the people in attendance when it made its debut.
Equally intriguing to me, were
the glorious boxes these hats came in. (I have a thing about boxes to begin
with, but those pentagonal-shaped HAT boxes are the best of the best, bar
none.) Add to that the timeless, classic logos of stores of yesteryear—stores
like Castner Knott, Cain-Sloan, Harveys and Loveman’s…(not to mention her New
York hat-acquisitions like Lord & Tailor, Macy’s and others)...well clearly I had entered
the twilight zone – A Museum of Millinery –a Festival of Fedoras…a Bonanza of Bonnets…a Virtuoso
of Vintage...
When it comes to Derby days
and feasts of straw and feathers, my mom takes the cake (and puts it on her
head)~ She’s the bomb when it comes to heavenly headwear…
So here's to you Mom -- You're the crème
de la creme of the brim!
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