And so as Christmas looms large in the window and my latest hat experience comes to an end, what have we learned?
Continue reading “I did it for me. I liked it. And… I was… really… I was alive… #lovemyhat”
Its-a me, Heisenberg… #lovemyhat
I was out and about in London this week and while on my way to the ITV London Studios I bumped in to some fellow hat wearers.
You all know exactly who I am. Say my name… #lovemyhat
It’s time for another season of #lovemyhat…
For those of you that remember, I previously blogged about my experience of wearing an ‘Indi‘ in today’s modern world and discovered a few things about both myself, and the people around me. Thanks again to the generosity of the fine fellows at Bates – Gentlemen’s Hatters, I am undertaking another millinery adventure.
Continue reading “You all know exactly who I am. Say my name… #lovemyhat”
Rain stops play… S02E02 #lovemyhat
No sooner do I take possesion of my new Panama than the British Summer ends. And unlike the ‘Indi, wearing a Panama under heavy grey skies does have an edge of the crazy about it (kind of like wearing sunglasses indoors) and so I have not had as much opportunity to wear it as I would have liked.
Sumer is icumen in… S02E01 #lovemyhat
With the British Summer finally taking hold (sic), it was time to put ‘Indi’ to bed. He had been a fine companion during the cooler days of Spring, but the warmer weather had made our partnership rather sweaty and so I once again visited the dead cat, and fine gentleman, of Bates Hats to find something more suitable to continue my hat related social experiments… A Panama.
Mr @aRobertWebb, @MarieCurieUK and a Yellow Bowler Hat #lovemyhat
When people ask me about Twitter and say “What’s the point?”, I always reply with one word… Serendipity
Never has anything come along that has provided people with so many “happy accidents”. I have spoken about many of these pleasant surprises myself and met countless others who have experienced similar, but these events occur exactly how they are named.
These are not things that you can plan or schedule. Serendipity can’t be engineered. It is its very spontaneity that makes it so special.
This is the essence of Twitter.
It is all of human life, both good and bad. It can make you laugh, it can make you cry. It can tell you what someone has had for breakfast and then go off and change the very world in which we live.
Oh, and it can also solve a celebrities hat problem…
Continue reading “Mr @aRobertWebb, @MarieCurieUK and a Yellow Bowler Hat #lovemyhat”
Life’s too short for cheap guitars… Week Four #lovemyhat
So the time has come where I reach the end of my millinery social experiment. I have shared my experiences of wearing a hat for over four weeks and hope that you have enjoyed at least some part of it. My hat has become part of who I am and will remain firmly upon my head, but I might spare you all the constant updates.
I feel that I have learnt so much during this period, way beyond the simple day-to-day trials of the hat wearer. Things about myself and those around me. It has changed me. Maybe not fundamentally, but in lots of little ways.
Would I recommend you wear a hat? Absolutely!
Yes they’re a pain in the arse when it’s windy, they make your head sweat and it’s yet another thing to carry around. But, for the moment at least, when you wear one you feel special, you’re part of a select crowd of individuals and you’re VERY easy to spot in a crowd.
My only piece of advice would be this though. Jerry Jeff Walker speaks the absolute truth when he says “Life’s too short for cheap guitars”. If you decide to join the millinery revolution and get a hat, do yourself a favour and get a good one. I know of just the place.
You can follow my day to day adventures with ‘Indi’ at twitter.com/stuartwitts or via the hashtag #lovemyhat, and if you feel inspired to purchase your very own quality headpiece, visit bates-hats.com and don’t forget to tell them Indiana sent you 😉
Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat… Week Three #lovemyhat
As the great F. Scott Fitzgerald so succinctly said, this weeks defeat was not final.
I’m sure you are all aware of the severe drought conditions we experienced this week that has led to some of us in the country having to perform the ultimate sacrifice. I refer of course to the howling wind and driving rain that led me to begin this week hatless.
I know, I know. There are those of you out there doubting my commitment and even whispering “coward” behind my back. But the thought of trying to hang on to my hat, my umbrella and all the other paraphernalia that comes with the daily commute just seemed too much. How Dr. Jones ever managed to ride, jump and fight his way throughout the quadrilogy without ever losing is hat is a secret only the movie magicians know. Us mere mortals sadly have to resort to leaving it at home.
Luckily by Wednesday the weather abated and I was once again reunited with my fur felted friend. It was good to be together again. I had missed it dearly. This, what can only be described as, epiphany finally cemented the bond between myself and my hat.
This week also saw a truly wonderful meeting of minds (hats?) at the local eatery, when I was fortunate enough to catch up with my friend @lesanto and finally catch sight of his light grey Poet in the flesh (felt?). Yet another fine Bate’s creation confidently striding its way through the streets of London.
Amongst our many conversation topics was the inevitable looking forward to warmer weather and the need for alternatives to our current headgear. I see Panamas in our future 😉
You can follow my day to day adventures with ‘Indi’ at twitter.com/stuartwitts or via the hashtag #lovemyhat, and if you feel inspired to purchase your very own quality headpiece, visit bates-hats.com and don’t forget to tell them Indiana sent you 😉
Happiness can exist only in acceptance… Week Two #lovemyhat
It has finally happened. After just over one week of being a hat wearer the fears and insecurities have shrank away. As I leave the house each morning it seems perfectly natural to place the hat upon my head and stride off into the sunrise. It is now a part of who I am. It is becoming ‘normal’.
Don’t get me wrong, there are still odd occasions where I consciously choose not to wear my hat for fear of ridicule, but it has firmly become part of my work week wardrobe and reminds me of something Jean Luc said to me when I picked up my hat from Bates,
“You wouldn’t leave the house without your shoes. So why would you leave without your hat?”
This week also saw more acceptance as my hat got it’s first sweet taste of an April shower. It performed admirably, Phil had informed me that the ‘Indi’ was bullet-proof and he wasn’t wrong. I’ve even dropped it a few times, brushed off the dirt and carried on.