Sunday, May 17, 2009

Wear a Hat

Fashion was important to me as a youngster, as I have mentioned before. Protection from the elements was important to my mother, and I was forever being advised to "wear a hat" -- a toque (what Canadians call a knitted hat) in winter or a sunshade in summer. The advise was rarely taken in those days, but now I live by it.

When I wore my hair very short I got in the habit of wearing a toque in the winter to keep my ears warm, and I still wear them religiously despite having long hair again. When I first was getting bad headaches the doctor told me to protect my eyes from the sun, so I started wearing something to shade my eyes in summer -- fashion be damned. A couple of years ago I found a wide-brimmed sun hat with a flap that hangs down over the back of my neck, and I have never looked back. It is featured above on the island of Crete, where it was inaugurated. Now it is doing less exotic service at Farcical Farm, and it was much-needed today when summer dropped in for a visit.


3 comments:

Carole said...

I wear hats all the time since the sun on my head gives me a headache too. I usually wear ball caps but the hat you're wearing is better, since it keeps your neck and ears shaded too.

Jean said...

I've always hated anything on my head, since it invariably blocks my vision and gives me a feeling of claustrophobia. But a bout with skin cancer on my face when I was in my 30s, soon persuaded me that a wide brimmed hat was necessary. My favourite has usually been a Tilley hat, though I still find any headgear too warm in hot weather and end up heading for shade instead.

Sarah Henderson, BCCDC said...

I used to wear a Tilley hat (after which my dog Tilley is named) but this one is way better and cooler. I got it at Lee Valley:

http://tinyurl.com/qpcgm3