Hats off to sheer diversity!

He can’t think without his hat’ — when Pozzo talks about Lucky’s hat in Beckett’s ‘Waiting for Godot’, the comical touch cannot be missed.

That apart, in the West, hats have played an integral part in one’s daily life through history. It’s not surprising that they were part of innumerable tales too. But hats have undergone much transformation since then. Closer home, hats have now become an unavoidable style statement. For Natasha Gupta, though, a media student of Center for Management Studies, Jain University, the love for hats and caps goes back a long way. All the way to her childhood!

“When I was a kid, I used to go for a lot of carnivals and fairs with my parents. And every time, I would ask my parents to get me a hat instead of chocolates. Whenever my relatives travelled, they would get me hats from the places they visited,” she remembers. The proud owner of more than 30 hats and caps, she has made sure that they occupy a pride of place in her cupboard. “I have also been travelling quite a lot lately and wherever I am, I pick up a hat or cap from there. Every place has hats and caps unique to them. In fact, from Venice, I got a sailor’s hat and from Pisa, I picked up one with a flag of Italy. From Macau comes an unusual hat. And one of my favourites is from London. It’s a Derby hat,” she adds.

Hats are as local as they can get and speak of a nation’s culture as well. Not to forget the fancy ones and those immortalised by movies! Natasha, meanwhile, has a Hawaiian hat, which is quite popular with her friends; the witch hats, which she got from the Innovative Film City, and ‘The Pirates of the Caribbean’ hat, picked up from Disneyland. “An aunt in fact, got me hats from Australia too,” she adds.

So while she is happy to have hats from almost every corner of the world, she does not miss any occasion to wear them either. Like the parties, for instance. “Whenever I go for a party, I make it a point to wear a hat and make sure that it goes well with my outfit.. At some of the parties, the organisers provide hats. I don’t leave them there after the party but take them home as these are a valuable addition. And why not?” she asks. Standing out in her collection are the red Santa Claus and the Lady Santa caps. The Lady Santa cap is of blue satin with plaits made of cotton. “I found it at a Christmas party,” she informs.

“My mother calls me a ‘mad-hatter’ since my hats occupy a full section of the cupboard. But I feel hats are an important accessory,” she is candid. She also points out how at the brunches held in the City, hats make quite a style statement. “Also, my friend recently had a ‘mad hatters’ party. So I chose a hat for it, which is off white in colour with green and pink flowers. My friends sometimes borrow my hats when they have to go for parties. Frankly, I am very touchy about my hats. I don’t want them to be ruined,” she avers.

Natasha has also some valuable suggestions for hat lovers. “Whenever you purchase a hat, you should make sure that it’s of a good quality, only then would it fit well. And if it doesn’t fit well, it won’t look good. I never compromise on the quality,” she says.
“In Bangalore you do get hats and caps at cheap rates. One can find customised ones at the Soul Santhe, which has jokes and quotes on them,” she informs. While she is making heads turn with her hats, Natasha intends to get more as she is all set to travel more. Wearing many hats? Natasha literally does that!