...you need a winter hat.

Yes, it's January and so it's a little late to be tackling this topic.  Nonetheless, here I am, January 2nd, and I need a new winter hat to go along with my Post Card coat.  Just an everyday hat that's cool.  I realized at school pick-up today that I've been wearing my North Face Cable Fish Beanie hat for way too long.  If you know me, you're sick of looking at it.  And, quite frankly, it's been to the gym, spinning, apres ski, the stable, etc.  In other words, it's seen better days.  Oh, and this other mom had an AH-MA-ZING hat on and I was jealous.  There.  I said it.

So, while I was sitting at afternoon-kid-activity-number-1, I started trolling online sites on my phone and not only got an education, but found some interesting hats out there.

First, the education.  On Nordstrom's site, I could choose from 'beanie', 'cloche', 'fedora', 'cap', and 'wide brim'.  Instinctively, I knew I wanted a 'beanie', but needed to know what 'cloche' was.  They are small-brimmed hats, sometimes very elegant.  See below.

Image from nordstrom.com.

Enough with education; back to shopping for a 'beanie'.  They had plenty of choices, ranging from $20 to $130.  With free shipping and free returns, I had to order a couple.  Here are the ones that will be stopping over for examination.  First up, a Missoni.  Really, I couldn't resist.  You KNOW it's super soft angora.

Image from nordstrom.com.

Marc by Marc Jacobs had a cute, polka dot and striped cap that I want to try out as well.  A little flare with this one.

Image from nordstrom.com.

This Michael by Michael Kors one is something simple with it's cheetah print.  I think I ordered the last one they had online!

Image from nordstrom.com.

I was also looking for something a little off-the-beaten-path.  Something a little inspired.   At this point, I was home and instead of cooking dinner, I was surfing around net-a-porter.com and shopbop.com to see what they had.  It was on net-a-porter that I noticed Eugenia Kim hats for the first time.  (After more research, I found that she attended Parsons, won a CFDA award for accessories design in 2004, and her millinery work can be found/purchased everywhere from Bergdorf to Barneys. I know, more education!  Read about her here.) Not cheap, but certainly different and cute.  While pompoms look ridiculous on me, I love this hat!

Image from net-a-porter.com

Net-a-porter was also featuring the Marc by Marc Jacobs one above, so I knew I was in good company.

A trip over to shopbop.com featured MORE Eugenia Kim hats and I loved these in particular.  Both are fabulous, and I'm hoping to sample one or the other.  Probably the first one.  Grrr.

Images from shopbop.com.

In short, there's a whole world of winter hats and I have only scratched the surface.  If you have any great hats I need to know about, please let me know! I'm on the hunt! ~ JH