Mad as a Hatter

For some reason this year the horse races over England have attracted seemingly a lot more women that usual accompanied by somewhat bizarre and over the top attire. However what has struck me as rather ridiculous is the hats that are now being donned to these public occasions. 

The origin of interesting head gear most likely comes from the queen of pop herself, (aptly named) Lady Gaga who has been seen in a lobster hat, a telephone hat and ladies legs hat... to name a few (not forgetting the raw steak hat). She can pull it off though simply because she is  Lady Gaga but I am not sure this opens the gateway to people wanting to experiment with their head accesories.

hollywooddame.com

The spark of interest around unusual hats does not end at Lady Gaga. Even if you did not watch the Royal Wedding there was no escaping the images of some of the most weird hats worn by celebrities. The most famous being Princess Beatrice who wore some lobster/pretzel ensemble on the front of her head and Tara Palmer-Tomskinson who opted for a blue boat shaped head piece again to the front of her head. Clearly it is a way to get noticed, but even though these hats look ridiculous that hasn't stopped them sparking a hat craze in ladies throughout England. 

dailymail.co.uk

dailymail.co.uk

Typically ladies would be seen in a fancy hat worn on or slightly off centre with a few frills and adornments however that seems to be a thing of the past. Aintree's Ladies Day attracted loud and top heavy ladies in their thousands and was no excuse for missing out on the hats. Interestingly not only are they being used as attention grabbing accesorise but have also become subject to the ever spreading world of advertising. Cleverly one model was dressed clearly identifiable as a walking advert for Krispy Kreme donughts which I'm sure left many of the attendees feeling a little bit peckish with a craving for one of these sweet treats.

zimbio.com

And so to Royal Ascot, where it seems the more high profile the event the higher the hat goes. Although the Royal's themselves have kept to a rather demure style (including Beatrice!) it hasn't stopped the other punters jumping on board the craze. Even though it all appears to be done in the name of fun (I hope) I think the ladies may need a little more advice when chosing their hatters next time!

dailymail.co.uk

dailymail.co.uk

dailymail.co.uk