Festival Hats

Festival Hats Make the Event More Fun

Spring and summer seem to abound with different festivals and celebrations some bear testament to religious faiths, some to the season and other are merely an excuse to get out and have a good time. No matter the reason there are many different festival hats to go with the celebration. For the ladies Easter seems to be the first real festival hat event of the year, no wonder since it is also the first real celebration of the spring.

For the Easter festival hats tend to be large and often covered in the flowers of spring for the ladies and for the little girls bonnets or small hats decorated with ribbons are the hat d'jour, whereas the in olden days when men wore hats as a regular course of habit perhaps a straw boater might have been worn. During the summer there are many different festivals and the number of different festival hats to go with them varies as much as the festivals themselves.

If you go to a renaissance festival with knights in shining armor and court ladies the most common festival hat you are likely to see there is the court jesters hat in multicolored splendor and replete with bells that jingle every time the wearer moves. For the ladies perhaps a bonnet draped in layers of silk and gauze such as was worn in medieval times might be seen.

Summer time means long warm days out in the sun and nothing is more appropriate than a straw hat to keep the sun off of your head and out of your eyes. The straw hat allows the air to circulate keeping the top of your head cool while a wide brim keeps the sun out of your eyes. During the last part of the 19th century straw hats became the hat of choice to keep the sun of one's head especially as motorized transportation came into use. Men and women both turned to the boater as it could be worn by both and provided plenty of shade.

The straw hat in one form or another has been around for centuries and in Mexico has been used as a functional hat and festival hat in the sombrero. This extremely wide brimmed hat is perfect for keeping the wearer well shaded as a work hat, but can be decorated with numerous decorative items for special occasions. In fact the sombrero has even had a dance created just for it to honor the traditional Mexican hat.

While the straw hat is very popular even today, they have become somewhat more expensive as the cost of good straw has increased. Add to that many people find that straw can be somewhat stiff and uncomfortable. The modern replacement for the straw hat is the bucket hat. This simple cloth hat is shape much like its namesake and can be pulled on to the head loosely, while the brim flops over the ears.

One of the benefits of the cloth bucket hat is that if it gets really hot, one can soak it in water and cool off. The water then helps the wearer to stay cooler for a long time as the water evaporates taking the heat away. Many companies have been known to give these hats away with their logos embroidered on them, plus the soft cloth makes them ideal for children and babies.