The Mad Hatter

Let’s talk about a hat. A hat that you’ve all seen. A hat that I’ve wanted for four years and just finally pulled the trigger on. A STRAW FEDORA. I know, fedora? Ew. Talk about tourist dad meets theater nerd, meets 2007, m’lady. Let’s agree not to refer to it as that anymore. It’s a Panama hat from now on.

Anyways, this Panama hat and I go way back. Back to late winter 2015 when Kenny and I were still fresh in our relationship and I held him hostage in a Francesca’s for upwards of two hours while I tried on pretty much every dress they had in stock. (That’s how I knew it was real with that guy, because he stood there with a smile on his face giving me dress ratings WELL past the societally accepted standard for two people who had been dating for less than six months.)  Anyways, on that same shopping trip I remember hemming and hawing over whether or not I should also get a straw Panama hat. Kenny had just gotten us tickets for a Taylor Swift show  that upcoming July (that’s two points for Busic, for those of you keeping score at home) and I thought it would be a LOOK for the concert. I was really on the fence, but ultimately Kenny told me based on my current indecisiveness that if I got it, I’d probably wear it once or twice, feel self conscious about whether I was pulling it off or not, and then banish it to the back of my closet with my shimmery infinity scarves and chevron bullshhh. And I knew he was right, I was just caught up in the trend, it wouldn’t last anyway.

I thought the same thing every year following, yet HERE I AM, four years later, and I still want that damn Panama hat. They’re everywhere! Seen on the likes of some of my favorite bloggers, Caitlin Covington, Amanda Marshall, Cortney Dryden, Lee Anne Benjamin... the list is basically endless.

Cortney Dryden | Lee Anne Benjamin | Caitlin Covington
Jaime Shrayber | Amanda Marshall | Karina Reske

So after four years of deliberation, I FINALLY GOT ONE! I'm sure that a maximum of zero people actually care, but this is a big deal for me. My dream version is the Brixton Joanna style, but I couldn't bring myself to spend $44 on something that I realistically wouldn't be wearing day-to-day. So I went to one of my most reliable sources for affordable trendy accessories: good ole Amazon. That's where I found this hat. 4.4 stars from over 1,000 ratings, 14 colors to choose from, and only $16? SOLD! The hat is amazing for the price, and achieves just the look I've been going for for the past four years. While it isn't an exact dupe of the Joanna style, it's a really great dupe for this Halogen style, and a pretty good dupe for the Joanna II as well.

Amazon | Halogen
Joanna | Joanna II

I don't think that the photos on Amazon do the hat justice. It's really substantial in person and the brim is perfectly flat, which was one of the main things I was looking for. I got the "A-khaki" shade (the one with a ribbon rather than lace), which is a perfect beige that isn't too white and isn't too yellow. Plus, it came in a big box so it didn't get bent or smushed during shipping. The hat also comes with a thin satin ribbon inside that you can tie to tighten the hat. I was skeptical about how effective it would be, but it actually does the trick. The hat is still large for me to wear at the hairline (à la Lee Anne), but I think it would be for anyone just because that's not the way it's "meant" to be worn (but fashion over practicality, am I right?)

All in all, for $16 I highly recommend this hat. For me, it was a small price to pay for an infatuation old enough to go to preschool.

Have an accessorized Wednesday!
xoxx, Laura