One wet evening in Paris last October, I impulsively bought
a jaunty little hat to protect my pointed little head from the rain. It cost, I
think, seven or eight euro.
Three-quarters of a year later, I still wear it, almost
every day. I adore it. It’s a nice daily reminder of our time in France, and I
am foolish enough to think I look cute in it.
Then I saw this on Tumblr:
Strike me dead! I’m wearing a damned trilby.
So hipsters are turning on themselves now. A trilby won’t do;
evidently you’d better wear a fedora (so long as you’re wearing a suit, or if
you’re Humphrey Bogart or Frank Sinatra, or if you’re Indiana Jones, or a really cool hipster).
How does the cool fedora differ from the uncool trilby?
Fedoras are bigger. The fedora has a higher crown than the trilby, and a wider
brim. The trilby’s brim is generally turned down in front. Both are named after women, by the way. “Fedora” – the Russian “Theodora” – was the
title character of a Sardou play of the late 1800s; “Trilby” was the name of a
novel by George du Maurier (featuring the evil hypnotist Svengali). When “Trilby”
was dramatized in the early 1900s, the lead actress wore a smart little hat
with the brim snapped down in front.
Anyway: the disagreements of hipsters are endless. What are we supposed to wear?
I don’t care. In fact, I have never cared. I don’t care if I
look like hell. I like bright colors, and comfortable clothes.
And I like my little hat.
And I think “trilby” is a cute name for a hat.
And I think I’m pretty cute too:
