Top hats

Thanks to Marc Jacobs and the classic Dr Seuss cat tale, headwear is the accessory designers are in love with just now — and the high street has been quick to cotton on
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23 October 2012

If purple is the new black, and knee-length the new mini, hats are the new bags. At least, that’s my story — and I’m sticking to it. Part of a new campaign spearheaded by the one and only Mr Marc Jacobs, titfers with whopping price tags are certainly enjoying something of a moment this winter.

This tale begins in New York and at Jacobs’s most recent autumn/winter show. Taking Dr Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat as his inspiration, the US designer charmed the fashion industry with a collection in which gargantuan fur hats played a leading role. Temporarily calling time on the so-called It bags that had long been his occupation, Jacobs then moved on to Paris where, as part of his autumn/winter offering for Louis Vuitton, the hat once again took prominence.

And he wasn’t the only designer with top-heavy accessories on his mind. At his show in London, Henry Holland opted for a dogtooth-print riding hat with which to decorate the noggins of the models, while Christopher Bailey modernised the classic British flat cap for Burberry.

But what was the stimulus for this contemporary moment for fashion? Some fashion insiders put it down to economics. While bags with three- and four-figure price tags have long provided designers with the bread-and-butter sales they need to boost their business, hats offer a new source of untapped income.

But in fact there’s little truth in this theory. The real reason for this renewed affection for headwear is far less sophisticated. It’s all about television, you see. Starting with Mad Men’s Don Draper, who catapulted a tobacco-coloured trilby to the top of the style agenda, our TV screens have been awash with bonnets in recent years. Lady Mary’s collection of cloche hats, as seen on Downton Abbey, inspired the likes of Stella McCartney and Topshop to include versions in their autumn/winter collections, while her father Lord Grantham’s affection for bowler hats apparently inspired Ralph Lauren’s latest catwalk offering. The inspiration for Marc Jacobs’s hat obsession is more difficult to discern. But a preoccupation with fantasy and fairy tales certainly played a part.

On the high street, hats are really taking off. Topshop has gone big on bowlers, and Zara has a beautiful selection of cloche hats.

But how to wear a hat without looking like a wally? For a start, avoid anything too major. Russian Vogue’s Anna Dello Russo and Jamiroquai’s Jay Kay aside, there are few people on earth who can expect to pull off a Marc Jacobs Cat in the Hat titfer without looking like they’ve taken a wrong turn en route to a high-end Halloween party. A cloche, on the other hand, offers a far less terrifying choice. Opt for one that’s free from embellishment in a deep shade of purple or black and team with a classic winter coat. Bowler hats, a favourite with youthful hipsters, look best teamed with biker jackets and heavy duty boots. But don’t splash serious amounts of cash on one. While Marc Jacobs might disagree, the It hat is a luxury purchase that few of us have the bank accounts to justify. While a bag is an investment, a hat is a flash-in-the-pan frivolity that you’ll wear three times before becoming bored.

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