Tiny Hats, Old Memories & the Stories We Decorate With
A few weeks ago, I spent an afternoon browsing through a local antiques show. It was a good little show, filled with beautiful vintage treasures to explore and vendors I hadn't met before.
As I wandered through the booths, admiring old things and making new friends, I came across something that stopped me.
Tiny hats.
Not children's hats. Not doll hats. These were miniature versions of real hats, complete with their own tiny hat boxes. Some were made of felt-like material, others of plastic, and the little boxes were almost as charming as the hats themselves.
They were cute. But then I saw the prices.
Clearly, there was more to these little things than I knew. And, of course, once I realized there was a story there, I had to know what it was.
So What's the Story With the Tiny Hats?
I struck up a conversation with the vendor, Annette DeMay, owner of Antiques & Old Lace in Rutherfordton, North Carolina. She had brought all sorts of wonderful vintage and antique pieces to our little town, including those curious little hats.
Annette explained that miniature hats like these were used in the mid-20th century as part of the presentation for hat gift certificates.
Think about it. A paper gift certificate may have been practical, but it wasn't terribly exciting to unwrap on Christmas morning.
So instead, the recipient could be given a tiny hat box containing a miniature hat along with the certificate or information for choosing the real thing. They got something fun to open and keep, but they could still visit the store later to choose a full-sized hat that fit properly and suited their taste.
Now that is gift wrapping!
And suddenly those tiny hats made a lot more sense.
But learning their story got me thinking about something else.
Do I decorate with hats?
I certainly do.
Hats Aren't Just Something We Wear
I use straw and woven hats as wall décor. I hang them from peg racks, add them to blanket ladders and baskets, and use them with stacks of vintage linens. They're inexpensive, easy to find at thrift and vintage stores, and their warm, neutral texture works beautifully in almost any room.
I also love those dainty vintage ladies' hats—the little veiled, flowered and lace-trimmed ones that instantly make you think of another time. They're a little harder to find in good condition, but they're wonderful tucked into a shabby chic vignette, displayed on a shelf or nestled into an old suitcase with vintage gloves and other pretty treasures.
And then there's the black felt top hat I use at Christmas.
Why? Because it looks like Frosty's hat, of course.
There's something about certain hats. We don't just see the hat. We see the person, the time, or the memory attached to it.
Some Hats Don't Need an Introduction
Show most people a tall black stovepipe hat and Abraham Lincoln immediately comes to mind.
A beautiful pink pillbox hat? Jackie Kennedy.
A furry coonskin cap with that unmistakable striped tail? For generations of Americans, it's hard not to think of Davy Crockett and the 1950s craze that turned that frontier-style cap into an American pop-culture icon.
And a black top hat at Christmas? Well, I'm still going with Frosty.
That's the funny thing about hats. Sometimes a shape, a color or the way a brim is bent can bring an entire person to mind. And sometimes that person isn't famous at all.
Then There's Papaw's Hat
A worn ball cap or trucker's cap with the brim squeezed into a curve will always remind me of my Papaw. The picture on the front of his hat changed over the years, but the hat itself was a constant.
He put that type of cap on his head before he went out of the house in the morning, and it didn't come off until he was ready for bed in the evening. He always bent the brim just so and wore it tilted a little to the right.
It was one of the million little things I loved about that man.
There are far more valuable hats in the world. Hats with famous names attached to them. Hats in museums. Hats collectors will pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to own.
But give me one that looks like Papaw's and I won't see a hat at all. I'll see him.
And maybe that's what makes hats so interesting as décor. Sometimes they don't just remind us of a decorating style or a time period. They remind us of a person.
7 Ways to Decorate With Vintage Hats
If you've never thought about using hats in your home, they're surprisingly easy to work into your décor.
Create a wall display. Group two or three straw hats in different sizes for an inexpensive, textured wall arrangement.
Hang one from a peg rack. Add a hat alongside a basket, tote, dried flowers or vintage linens for an easy collected-over-time look.
Top a stack of quilts or linens. A soft straw hat or pretty vintage ladies' hat adds another layer of texture and interest.
Tuck one into an old suitcase. Add gloves, old books, lace, photographs or other small treasures to create a vintage vignette.
Fill a basket with vintage accessories. A small hat, gloves, glasses, scarves and other old-fashioned pieces can turn an ordinary basket into a beautiful display.
Use hats seasonally. A black top hat can become part of a whimsical Christmas display, while straw hats are perfect for spring and summer decorating.
Create a memory vignette. This may be my favorite. Use a hat—or simply the type of hat—that reminds you of someone you love. Add a photograph, book, pair of glasses, pocketknife or another small object that brings that person to mind.
Because decorating doesn't always have to be about finding the perfect thing.
Sometimes it's about finding the thing that makes you feel something.
Maybe the Little Hats Weren't So Little After All
I went to that antiques show thinking I was simply spending an afternoon looking at old things. I came home thinking about tiny hats.
Then those tiny hats made me think about the hats I use in my own home.
Those hats made me think about Lincoln and Jackie Kennedy and Davy Crockett and Frosty the Snowman.
And eventually, they made me think about Papaw.
That's one of my favorite things about vintage. You never really know where an old object is going to take you.
Sometimes you pick something up because it's beautiful.
Sometimes because it's unusual.
And sometimes, if you're lucky, it takes you somewhere you didn't expect to go at all.
How about you?
Do you decorate with hats in your home?
And more importantly—is there a certain kind of hat that immediately makes you think of someone you love?
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