Fall Hat Month is celebrated in September. That means it’s time to put your summer hats away and prepare for the next season of head décor.
In all seriousness, there really is a Fall Hat Month. For those who wear summer hats to keep the sun off your heads and your faces, you likely look forward to fall. It represents a packing away of hats that are straw or made of lightweight canvas or cotton, and the unpacking of hats in a wealth or new fabrics and styles.
Fall Hat Month—Your Responsibilities
With the arrival of a Fall Hat come a couple of responsibilities. The first responsibility is to your summer hats. It’s important to clean them properly before storing them away for next summer.
If your summer hat is made of straw, check it thoroughly for any soiled areas. Then proceed, using one or more of the following items for cleaning.
- White vinegar
- Plastic spray bottle
- Small, soft scrub brush
- Soft cleaning cloth
Mix a solution of one-part white vinegar to three parts water in a plastic spray bottle. Spray a small amount onto the affected area and scrub it gently with a soft scrub brush. Allow the area to dry. You should see a definite lightening—if not complete removal—of the soiled area. Go over any dusty areas with a soft dry cleaning cloth.
If your summer hats are made of cotton or canvas, use the aforementioned method. If it doesn’t work, use a bit of liquid dish soap on your fingers. Rub it directly onto the soiled area, and then rinse with a soft cloth soaked in clean water.
Cleaning Your Fall Hat
If you didn’t clean your fall hats before storing them away last year, it’s time to clean them. Before donning a fall hat, it must be clean and void of all odors.
Check for a manufacturer’s laundering label. If you don’t find one, proceed to clean your fall hats using the aforementioned vinegar and water cleaning process used for cotton, canvas, or straw hats. If your hat is made of wool, you might want to consider taking it to a dry cleaner. Try these 5 Ways to Clean Hats Effectively
Other Ways to Celebrate Fall Hat Month
Cleaning your summer and fall hats doesn’t sound like much of a celebration does it? What other ways can you celebrate Fall Hat Month?
Buy a brand new fall hat. Men might consider a Fedora, Trilby or Safari hat. Women look nice in Fedoras, also. Why not try a beret?
Consider wearing a hat on every single day during Fall Hat Month. Provided you don’t work in an environment that might prohibit this, you would certainly get your co-workers talking—and wondering what kind of a hat you’ll show up in next.
You could have a Mad-Hatter’s Tea Party, just like the one in Alice in Wonderland.
Brush Up on Your Hat Knowledge
Regale your friends, family members and co-workers with hat related trivia. A hatter makes hats for men and a milliner makes hats for women. Did you know that? See—Fall Hat Month is educational. Check with your local hatter or milliner to see if they have any special activities or celebrations planned for Fall Hat Month.
Did you know that an actress from the 1800s named Sarah Bernhardt wore the first fedora? She played the role of a character named Fedora—hence the reason the hats of that style are named as such today.
How about the fact that the top hat made its debut all the way back in 1797 in London? The first magician to pull a rabbit out of one was Louis Comte in 1814. Have you ever seen a magician perform the generations-old trick?
Did you know that the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland is based on something that used to happen to hatters? The felt-making process used to involve mercury, which was highly toxic. It sometimes literally drove the hatters mad.
Now that you have an understanding of Fall Hat Month, what do you think you’ll do? Will you head out to your local hat shop to purchase one or more new fall hats? Or will you dig out last year’s styles, treat them to a good cleaning, and proceed to wear them throughout the month?
Whichever you choose, do know that people who wear hats are believed to be far more stylish than their hatless counterparts. So whether you prefer wool, felt, canvas, knitted, wide brimmed, or even a plain old baseball cap—don one. You don’t want to be unstylish—do you?
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