The slight breeze in the air, the scent of pumpkin spice wafting, and the colors of the leaves changing can mean one thing and one thing only: fall is here. Though the weather may be erratic at most, don’t mistake the changing of the seasons. While you walk around campus listening to the “Peanuts” soundtrack, you’re 100% noticing the cacophony of sweaters and the breaking out of the brown boots.
Fall fashion is an art form. The cardigans, tights, and scarves all create a diverse array of options. Yet one accessory has slipped out of the frame: the hat. When the wind is blowing your hair in 100 different directions, you only wish something could tame it. That’s when a hat should come in handy. But when I walk past the campus pond, I’m met with a lack of hats.
Hats used to dazzle in different colors, shapes and patterns, made for every single occasion and every mood. You could style one in the most nonsensical ways and elevate an outfit. Hat hair might be an issue, but nothing as bad as frizz. You could watch any old movie and compile a list of the best hats (my personal favorite is Audrey Hepburn’s magnificent Ascot hat in “My Fair Lady.”)
Sure, you could look to your left and see a baseball cap here and there, but at large, we are now a tragically hatless society. There used to be drama; hats used to take up space, and you’d look around to see a rainbow of splendid styles. What happened?
Back in the day, going out without a hat was grounds for scandal. A bareheaded woman was practically deemed naked. Hats once stood elaborately high on the head, considered a crucial part of the everyday outfit, an indicator of social status.
They haven’t been entirely eradicated (when the Kentucky Derby is off to the races, the hat reigns supreme). Still, they aren’t as prevalent as they once were. You could blame athleisure, World War II, or rebel culture. However, the main culprit here is the car.
The late 1950s marked the decline of hats, largely due to the rise of the car. As people retired their carriages and hopped into their cars, they were provided with shelter during their travels. The government invested in this, building a highway system across America and turning the country into an interstate haven.
As people crammed into their cars, wearing a top hat made commuting an uncomfortable journey, unless the driver was open to bumping their head on the roof. Its function as protection from the elements also dwindled as climate-control technology and a changing view of social class swept the nation. What was once both protection and a status symbol began to fade out. Men still bought hats, but they began to wear them less and less. Thus, the 1960s marked the end of the hat.
Hats have been around since the dawn of time, so why should they disappear now? I may love styling my hair here and there, but I sure do miss hats. Yes, the snapback is still everywhere, and if you think about it, they haven’t entirely disappeared from the limelight. Not too long ago, fedoras experienced a resurgence in the early 2000s, and the bucket hat also saw a comeback in 2020. But the art of the hat deserves a revival.
A hat can communicate so much with so little. Take the bare head and add a bowler hat to it. When you’re out on a boat, what more do you need than a fishing hat? For a day at the beach, there’s nothing better to shield yourself with than a sun hat. It gives character, and there’s a hat for everyone and every season, especially in the fall. The unadorned head is a blank canvas that deserves to be painted on.
Fashion is cyclical and will always go back to old trends, so hats for fall, (not) groundbreaking! Consider pairing a wool winter hat with your puffer jacket for a stylish finish or a corduroy beret for that long walk to class. You could go full Paddington Bear and use a red beret to spruce things up, or even dust off that fedora for a hint of mystery. Think of it as a declaration of your personality.
Hats can, and should, be fun again. There are so many outfits that are missing something (often a hat). There’s charm, there’s intrigue, it’s memorable, and it’s the cherry on top of an otherwise dull outfit.
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