Why Spend So Much on a Designer Hat?

When purchasing a hat, just like any other item, you have to really look at what you are buying. I have seen some designer hats that cost a pretty wholesale penny and weren't worth a dime. Most times you are paying for the quality of the product. A designer hat can be a great investment. Think of the latest designer handbag that cost $400 at least. Give it one season and people will be staring at you sideways, the lining will be torn and the leather stained. Those fancy sunglasses people collect and spend oh-so much money on, they inevitably get dropped, stepped on, scratched, and lost in your bag, cafe table, or who knows where. Jewelry trends too, are in one day and out the next. Designer costume jewelry is notorious for it's poor quality, base metal and "gemstones" made out of glass.

A hat is timeless. Many of the style worn today are those reminiscent of the past. These styles never leave. they are here season after season, yet always with a new twist, new trim, new fabrics & adornments. A good hat will surpass your lifetime. It's structure and design will always be appreciated. They are different and unique, unexpected even. When walking down the street in a hat you can guarantee that it is the first thing noticed by onlookers.

A designer hat, often handmade, comes from the finest materials. Velour felt, beaver felt, horsehair, ultra soft parisisal straw, silk and satin. These fabrics are hand picked by the designer. Their sketches are artistic drawing that come to life through their vision. That hat on your head started as an idea, a sketch, a scrap of material, formed, shaped and steamed into that beautiful thing you wear now.

Designers are people too. They have often paying their student loans just like you. Their pieces are not mass produced in a far off country. They are created one by one, in small quantities to fulfill demands. It is not easy to convince the masses that they should be wearing hats, although they should be. To get this important message across they depend on their ability to create wearable art. They can not afford to produce expensive wears from low end materials without paying attention to details. It is their job and passion to design and create. We should be supporting local designers, artists and creators instead of the mass-produced merchandise that smells funny and falls apart in one season.

Next time you pass by a millinery shop, if you can find one, stop and appreciate the fact that there are still those out there trying to keep an old tradition alive. Take a step in and feel the velour felt, horsehair straw, and hand sewn trims. See how comfy they sit on your head like an extra layer of skin. Know that each stitch was created for the buyer in mind, to induce a satisfaction in their purchase and confidence in their step as they stroll down the street in their new chapeaux.