Today is National Hat Day

The national hat day celebrates the Hat

In the UK is another hat day the "Wear a Hat Day" on Thursday 29th of March in aid of brain tumour research. 

General Plumage

This Shako hat is another theatrical hat

A Shako is a tall cylindrical military hat with a visor, the cylinder can be parallel or tapered in or out at the top.  

They are usually decorated with plumes and a plate or badge on the front of the cylinder.

The Shako was popular in the 19th Century, initially, it was a practical improvement on the military hats of the time offering a little bit of protection, but by the end of the Napoleonic wars, it became a showy parade ground hat.

In the UK a stovepipe version of the hat was first worn by military units from around 1799 but by the mid 1820's it's importance to show off the unit took over from its practicality, attempts were made in the mid-century to return it to practical use, but by 1870 it was no longer considered for actual battlefield use at all and in the UK by 1905 it was no longer worn by units for any use.

Some countries continue to use Shako for their showy military parades even today.

This hat comes from a theatrical production and is not a reproduction of an actual Shako worn by soldiers.

Beanie to Snood

One of the great uses of beanie hats is to make snoods, most of the £2 beanie hats from the supermarket are a tube of machine knitted fabric rolled over and stitched together at the top. Unpick the top or just cut the top off and you have a long tube of stretchy fabric which become an instant cheap snood.

Snoods are mainly used in lrp especially by the crew who need quick changes. They are used to hide the edges of masks and cover the neck where the mask ends saving makeup.

Cheap beanie plain colour, cheaper the better usually.

Feel for the double layer of fabric.

Unpick the top, or cut or tears if you want it quick.

This leaves a tube of fabric.

Stretch over your head

until around your neck.

Then pull up over your head, usually with you mask already on as below.

The rough unfinished edges you get from unpicking or tearing, just add to the effect.

Carrot Top

This carrot topped headwear was picked up from Chows Emporium around 8 years ago

It was from an opera called "Sir John in Love" labelled actor final scene and now used for tribal shaman in LRP

The wicker frame is tied together with sackcloth/hessian, fitted over a padded skull cap and then topped with an artificial carrot.

Watch for low branches and don't even attempt doorways wearing this hat

Seen above with a carrot-nosed facemask and below with an onion covered shawl also from Chows

Baubles

Presents for Christmas included Beard Baubles and R.

Along with a green Vietcong pith helmet, a brown suede hood and a bag full of Wee Willie Winky Hats.

Jesters Hat

The jester hat is a silly hat with bells on worn by performers in the Tudor period and beyond.

Red and Green should never be seen, except on fools is a reference to a colour clash and peoples fashion sense.

I always like to think this phrase comes from the colours worn by medieval court jesters, but that probably not true, the phrase could come from the running lights on ships, which have traditionally been red on one side and green on the other. If another vessel saw green or red lights ahead in the dark, it would mean they were on a collision course. 

This is comercial hat found in job lot of hats I got off ebay used by a local theatre group.

Where does a werewolf go when he loses his tail? 

A retail store,  ta da.

Crown

The crown a headress worn by a monarch or emperor to show thier power, wealth and also used in a coranation to endorse thier position.

Crowns come in many shape a date back to time of pharoes, the one shown here is shaped like a traditional european crown.

Often made of gold or other precious metaerial, covered in jewels and lined with some expensive animal skin, this headgear is not practical or confortable, its nothing but a symbol of the wearers rank. 

This is a cheap fancy dress plastic crown which I have repainted and distressed, lined with felt all to give a bit life and make it less plasticky.

One up from the cracker crown shown in my previous post.

Its a Cracker

The cracker hat is usually made of thin tissue paper and shaped like a crown.

These hats have fallen out of most Christmas crackers since the early 20th century, along with mottos, love notes, gifts and many a bad joke.

The first Christmas cracker was based on a novelty bon-bon developed by a London confectioner Tom Smith which made a bang when opened, he and his company eventually developed this into the gift delivering item we know today as the Christmas Cracker.

Tom Smiths sons who took over the business when he died eventually where the ones who introduced the hat into the cracker.