My Turn: Nancy Dervan of St. James fancies life with a bonnet on it

My husband and I like Broadway musicals and occasionally have a chance to go into the city to see one. In September, we purchased tickets to a show scheduled for Jan. 17. We had no thought about what the weather would be like for that day, since our winters have been so mild. Watching the forecast, we saw that Wednesday would be one of the coldest days, with a temperature of 22 degrees and a wind chill that would feel like 11 degrees. It was then that I realized I did not have a hat.

I love hats! Every time I see a display of hats, I just have to try some on. My children thought that I was being silly, but the hats were calling to me. So, if I went to Costco, I tried on the sunhats. In Macy’s I would try on stylish winter hats. On a trip to upstate Woodstock to visit my brother, I tried on and bought a man’s fedora because it matched my raincoat. Not all the hats I liked looked good on me and I could tell when my children made “that” face that the hat wasn’t working. My husband will have a blank look but then tell me that hat wasn’t for me.

Maybe the reason I love hats so much is because they remind me of my childhood. My father always wore hats, but he did it because he wanted to hide his mostly bald head. When he passed, it was hard to give his hats away. They held so many memories for all of us.

Growing up in the ’60s, all little girls and women wore hats or mantillas in church until after the Second Vatican Council, which is credited with making the Catholic Church more open. We had little bonnets as babies and then collected a seasonal selection of hats as we grew up. I had so many! Straw hats, floppy hats, rain hats, hats with flowers on them, fabric hats, even berets in many colors. I always had a very special Easter bonnet that matched my new coat, dress and shoes. I was one of five children, and my parents had very little money. They would use their tax refund and take us to the Korvette’s department store to outfit all of us. We always were appropriately dressed for the holiday. The old pictures I have captured those times and we were all very happy to pose in our new clothes.

Nowadays, when I go to church, no one wears hats. Occasionally you will see a woman with a knit hat on because of cold weather, but the hats of my youth do not make an appearance at church. It is not always easy to find a nice hat to wear to church. I think that they know better in England, where they always wear hats.

We have become less formal, less caring about what we wear as a society. I see people shopping in pajamas and skin-tight leggings and can not believe they would think to go out of their house looking like that. Maybe I am just getting older, but I miss seeing women wearing hats in church. For that matter, I miss seeing people taking the time to think about what they are wearing and how they present themselves to others.

I did wear a hat that day in the city. I found it at the St. James General Store. I will be happily wearing it to church this Sunday. It’s going to be cold!

Nancy Dervan

St. James