Straw hats have been found in almost every culture throughout the world, with different styles and techniques used to make them as needed for that area’s needs. . Straw Hat Day commemorates these amazingly pieces of headwear. Straw hats are known to go back to before the Middle Ages all throughout the West and into the Orient. Since then, numerous styles have appeared, and some of them are so important that they have become indelibly tied to a culture or a place, and in some cases a person. When most Americans think of the Panama Hat, they immediately think of Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the iconic American President responsible both for the building of the Panama Canal, and the inspiration for the ‘Teddy Bear’. Then there is the mokorotlo, a hat that is part of the traditional garb of the Sotho (South Africa & Lesotho) people. This straw hat is so important to their culture that it has become their national symbol, even appearing on their flag and license plates. These hats are fantastic in their flexibility of use, if you’re in an area where you want to keep the sun off your head but you also what your head to be able to breathe, a loosely woven straw hat is just the thing you need. On the other hand if you live in a rainy climate and want something to keep your (sometimes rather intense) rains off your head, you go for a tightly woven straw hat like those found in Japan and China. It's also Numeracy Day so I can count my collection.
Hats don’t live in the floordrobe! I have too many and they’re too delicate. One day they will all adorn a wall but for now they’re mostly safely stored in cases. Mostly.
I look a pillock in hat, so I have nooo idea, at all, about hats. ... I will avoid the obvious comments, by saying I'm probably proper pillock anyway.. Hat or no hat