Fashion Friday: To Hat or Not To Hat Edition

I used to live in hats.  When I was in high school I wore a hat almost every day.  I guess it was a 90's thing?  Those "Blossom" hats made of crushed velvet with flower brooches holding up the brim?  They were my jam.

There were Winter versions of the hat, that I paired with these snazzy purple pants (!) and Summer versions of the hat (that made my nephew make that face).  Despite how dated they look now,  I never felt fully dressed without one and I never had to worry about the state of my unruly hair, either.  Stick it under a hat today...worry about staying up all night detangling it tomorrow!

(Thanks to Mo for both of the throwback photos)

Somewhere in the mid-late 90's my attitude towards hats changed.  I think part of it was that I was in the workplace and, well, you're not gonna wear a hat all day at the office.  Part of it was that I had matured and wasn't the same sort of fashion free-spirit anymore.  I had done the hat thing to death and was over it.

Cut to the recent wide brim Fedora  / Panama Hat trend that's everywhere this Fall.  Initially I was intrigued, and then I dismissed it as "not for me" because I have this thing about not wanting my head to look tiny (and sometimes hats can do that).  I knew how ridiculous that was before I typed it out but now it seems even more ridiculous.  But it's true.  That's my plus size fashion fear...that my head will look disproportionate to the rest of my body.  I can be fearless and break the rules most of the time, but the idea of creating a situation where I'm a pin-head isn't something I'm interested in doing.

Good lord that sounds dumb.

Well...anyway...I wanted to give this trend a try, so I bit the bullet.  Fall is the perfect time to wear a hat for style as opposed to function, isn't it? My first kick at the can is this Urban Outfitters Westward Panama Hat in Olive.  It's soft, yet structured and not so small that I feel like it messes with my proportions.  Win / win!

I've paired it here a pencil skirt from Old Navy which is available here and a great top from Addition Elle's Nola Activewear line.  I don't see the top on the website yet, but I'll link to it if becomes available online.  I'll feature both of these items more clearly in a later post because I've been living in them lately.  Hooray for new Fall essentials!

So, what do you guys think?  Are you team hat or not?  Will you be rocking a Panama Hat this Fall?

Fun side note: this post marks the 1 year anniversary of the Fashion Friday feature here on Miss Tracey Nolan.  Thanks for reading! If there are any ideas that you'd like to see explored over the next year, let me know!