Hats of winter

This is now my fourth winter in Minnesota.  When I moved here, I owned one hat – a baseball hat used to keep the rain off my face in Washington.  I didn’t really like hats.  But I quickly learned there is a whole culture of hats in Minnesota!  People love their hats,  and there are so many different styles of hats to love.  There are lightweight hats for early winter, there are hats that are meant to keep the top of your head warm, there are hats to tie under your chin to keep your cheeks and neck warm, and there are hats or hoods that are connected to your coat.   And then as winter progresses and the temps get colder and colder, there are hats that keep every part of your head, ears, and upper body warm — these are the ones with flaps that come down and around, and are your very best friend on a sub-zero day.  These are just some of my current hat collection (ok, one of them is borrowed but it’s so cool I just had to model it too!).    The other cool thing about Minnesotans is they don’t care if you have hat-hair or not.  Hat-hair is what everyone has, it’s a fact of life, and it’s just the way things are when the temps are hovering around zero.  Practicality wins out over the fashionistas when survival is at stake.  Winter hats are just one of the things I like about Minnesota.