It’s hat time here in Louisville.
That’s right, folks…right now millinery shops all around town are doing a brisk business selling chapeaux by the hundreds. Everywhere you look, ladies are carrying hat boxes out of stores.
There’s a two-worded explanation for the recent craze in bonnets and berets…
Derby Week.
Louisville is of course internationally known as the home of the Kentucky Derby, considered “The Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports.”
It could also be considered the most exciting place to view a wide variety of headgear.
Hats are practically mandatory for watching the Derby, as well as the other big races taking place during the week…such as the Derby’s little sister – The Kentucky Oaks, run on the Friday before the big race.
I’ve been to the Derby in the past (and yes, I have the hat to prove it), but this will be my first time attending the Oaks. As I wrote in a previous post, the Kentucky Oaks is a fundraiser for breast cancer research, and since my mother succumbed to the disease last year I will be attending the race in her honor.
That means I have to have the proper outfit…complete with a hat.
Mind you, we’re not talking about a simple baseball cap here. The elaborate creations to be found at Churchill Downs on this day could rival anything seen at the Royal Wedding.
Some are quite illustrative:
Others are rather comical:
And a few are just downright bizarre.
Some folks leave you wondering if size does indeed matter…
While for others small but elegant works best.
But the most popular seems to be the wide brimmed hat festooned with a floral arrangement and maybe a feather or two:
These hats don’t come cheap, folks. It’s not unusual to pay 150 – 300 dollars on a hat…sometimes even more. Some folks even go all out and decorate their hats with jewels. One store in town is holding a drawing for a One-of-a-Kind Derby Hat decorated with diamonds – valued at nearly six thousand dollars.
So what about my own hat? After doing a little consultation with a hat designer, I came up with a style that I think will nicely match the silvery gray dress I plan to wear, while at the same time keeping with the pink theme of breast cancer, and the stargazer lily – the official flower of the Kentucky Oaks.
I’m wearing it in the photo below, taken at the track:
Sooo…whatcha think?
This sculpture shows the sign for "connect"...and that is what Deaf Pagan Crossroads is all about - making connections. Connections between Deafhood and Paganism, connections between the Deaf Community and the Hearing Community, connections between myself as the writer and you as the reader. I hope you will take the time to read my various posts, some of which are listed below. Welcome to the Crossroads, and I hope you make some connections here!
Fun post Sis….and LOVE your hat! Nicely done. š
Gotta get in gear and create my KY Derby hat in the next couple evenings. Even though I’m only going to a party to watch it on TV, we like to give it that at-the-track feel by creating our own hat designs, some whacky and wild, some more along the lines of what you’ve got there.
Enjoy your day!
great post as usual; the hat is awesome.. better you than me.. and love the idea you are supporting breast cancer.. enjoy the weekend to the fullest; you deserve it..