FOR OVER 50 YEARS, Himself and I have collected hats and headgear.   The collection encompasses  ‘anything that anyone has ever worn on their head, for any reason whatsoever’.    The oldest item is a fine silk calash bonnet from around 1775, the newest , a hat made of modern materials at the beginning of the 2000’s.   And everything in between !

In the pages that follow, I want to show you some of the amazing variety of headgear, and tell you some of their history, and some fascinating personal stories.   Go to the ‘INTRODUCTION’, then  ‘SOME ITEMS FROM the COLLECTION’ to see a fraction of this diversity, and then follow some of the styles and materials in the menu.