A hat for a Melbourne lady

As the true Fashionista that I am, I was thrilled to move to Australia. I had this vision that Australia is a country of fashion, elegant women and good taste. They do have a lot of shops but so far I haven’t been impressed with anything I’ve seen. I went to a fashion show last week  and I noted the following trends in Australia: neon and tights. Dresses and tights in neon colors weren’t stylish when they first came in the 80’s and that sure hasn’t changed. And black tights do not go with just about anything, it did some years ago but not anymore. But when the designer asked me what I thought of the show, I said that it was lovely and that she was indeed a talented designer. It was a white lie but hey, we could all go home happy and feel good about ourselves. 

There is one accessory that is popular in Australia and in Melbourne in particular: the hat. In this case I don’t mean the sunhat, I mean the slightly ridiculous headpiece you can see female guests wearing at royal weddings. Ladies of all ages dress up in hats for weddings and especially for the horse race carnival in November, the Melbourne Cup. There are lots of fun and beautiful headpieces to choose from, in all colors and shapes and the prices are from affordable to maybe-not-so affordable. I have decided to start collecting hats, buying a new one each year in honor of the Melbourne Cup when all of the city of Melbourne is celebrating to the extent that it is a local holiday. I suggested to the Daughters that we go shopping for hats this weekend, my oldest – my Mini-Me – thought this was a brilliant idea and my youngest thought it was a lousy idea, she has a Ferrari-cap that she’s happy with and claims she doesn’t need any hat, especially one with bows, lace and feathers. I’m sure she’ll be singing a different tune in a couple of years. A lady in Melbourne needs at least one fancy hat, that’s how it is and always will be.