Best Hats for National Hat Month

September is National Hat Month and you think I’m kidding but I’m not. Go ahead, send yourself an e-card to celebrate, I’ve sent a few to Logan, my husband, and I’ll tell you he loves getting e-cards to celebrate National Hat Month.

I don’t really know how one celebrates National Hat Month, I suppose you could make a cake, but I prefer to celebrate by browsing for hats.

I’m not very good at being the parent of totally dependent little people. I like parenting children who, if they wake up in the night, can tell me what’s the matter. Children who don’t need me to pat them on the back for 3 hours in order to get them to sleep. Children who can go into the bathroom, shut the door and come back out without involving me at all. There’s a lot to be said for the older child.

One of the drawbacks of having children who are able to tell you what’s wrong, is they can also tell you what they like and don’t like. Until my daughter and son were around two I could slip hats on their heads and they didn’t really care what kind of hat they were wearing as long as I kept the bottles coming every two to four hours. This made my life infinitely more entertaining as I put hats on their heads which were reminiscent of court jesters, cats and a few times a monkey. As older children, though, they let me know what they don’t like. They let me know loudly.

When shopping for hats for our two kids, Logan and I used to let our laughter guide our purchases. The Klops Hat from Creature Co-op, for example, would have been a definite yes. It comes in sizes from baby to adult, but when I showed it to my five-year-old he said, “Funny, but no way.” (I might have him sold on the more demure, ‘Julio’ though.)

Maybe you don’t necessarily want your child’s head transformed into a hairy monster. Maybe your little one is more of an amphibian, a smiling crocheted amphibian. There’s a hat for that too.

I know you don’t want to put labels on your child and putting a hat which makes your child look like a little devil might be saying the wrong thing. But what if it’s really a warm hat? What if it’s just really funny? I think it’s okay then. This hat from Bossa Nova Baby comes in sizes from newborn to adult. Do you know how to knit? You can make your own with this free pattern. I adjusted the pattern a little and made it into a kitty hat. Which means my daughter isn’t labeled a devil, however she is labeled a cat.

This is a nice warm hat from Hanna Andersson. It’s multi colored with tassels and three points. Still appeals to the part of me which likes to laugh at the hats on my children’s heads but is subtle enough they might not notice I’m smiling at their head gear. It comes in a blue or pink version but for the love of all things gender neutral, if you live in Park Slope don’t call it a boy’s or girl’s hat. It’s just a hat.

As a teenager I refused to wear a hat, I told my mother over and over I wasn’t wearing a hat so just let it go. ‘My God Mother’. As an adult, I walk a few blocks each day all winter to pick up my kids from school because you haven’t been afraid until you’ve been in the afternoon pick up line at elementary school. I prefer walking and bypassing the rabid parents altogether. Where I live if you’re going to be outside in the winter, you’re going to need a hat. I’ve coveted this wool bucket hat for over a year since I first saw it at MightyGoods. Stylish but also perfect for keeping the non-violent parent warm at after school pick up.

Whip Up is celebrating Hat Month and pointed me to these amusing hats for dogs both my kids enjoyed browsing. They squealed with delight at several of the hats and really with all the joy these hats gave them you’d think they’d understand why I really want them to wear silly hats. Just because I enjoy their hats so much. But no, they still refuse.

Normally I’d just focus on hats you (or your best friend) can wear for the Buzz Off, but since it’s Hat Month I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t include hats you can’t wear. Hats which are actually lamps like this really cute lamp from Dimples and Dandelions. Wearing a lampshade on your head doesn’t seem like such a faux pas anymore.

The most important thing to remember about hats, the thing I tell my kids at least once a day: “Never ever never never never wear anyone else’s hat.”