Hair today, Ne'er tomorrow

After a bunch of days of cold, wet weather, the sun is back out.  So I'm back to sitting on the front porch.  I don't mind the rain, though.  We've had a very dry winter, and as our water supply depends on snowpack in the Sierra, we really need it.  And it made for some epic skiing and snowboarding for some people (I'm looking at you, Brendan), even if we've had to miss out on that this year.

Most of the past few days we've spent hanging around the house, trying to get out for at least one excursion with Dylan (sometimes squeezed in between the rains), so that he doesn't (and we don't) go too stir crazy.  Yesterday, our excursion was a trip to Telegraph Ave. (and Willard Park for Dylan), including a visit to the Berkeley Hat Company.

It's an awesome store.  A fairly tiny shop, but packed into their minimal square footage is a vast menagerie of hats.  Big hats, small hats, paper hats, furry hats, serious hats, silly hats, and everything in between.  Given that it's very probable that all of my hair will be falling out sometime in the next few weeks, and that I don't think I'm the kind of guy that will look good with a shaved head, I wanted to make sure that I was all set in the hat department.  I have a number of hats from them already, including a wool fedora for cooler weather; and a straw fedora for warmer, sunnier weather.  I was looking for something in between.  Lighter than wool, heavier (and less delicate) than straw; more fashion than function -- sun protection not being the main purpose.

I went in there thinking I wanted a purple fedora.  I had found some online, although many of those were either a bit too girly, or too pimpin'.  And fit is such an important factor, that I'm not sure if buying a hat online is the best idea regardless.

I didn't see anything in purple that I liked, but I did end up with this awesome one that's blue, with a red band.  It's probably a more versatile color than purple anyway.  I thought about buying a purple beret while I was there, but for some reason all of the purple ones were just a bit too small, despite the fact that they were all supposed to be the same size, and some of the other colors fit me perfectly.  And when am I really going to wear a beret, after all?

While I was there, I also happened to spot this amazing wide brimmed panama hat.  It's not at all what I came in looking for, but a sun hat that provides enough protection that I can get by without sunscreen and not burn my face and neck is something that I could use.  Plus, it fit me perfectly, so I decided to get it as well, even though it was kind of pricey.  What sealed the deal was that they were willing to put a leather chin strap on it for only $5, and they did a pretty good job.  Now I can use it for serious sun protection even in a windy environment.  Not that I'm sure that I want to be taking a $60+ hat to Burning Man.  Not that I'm sure that I'm ever even going to go to Burning Man again.

I'm starting to build up a fairly decent hat collection now, and most of them are from the Berkeley Hat Company.  I think I may be up to 8 just from this one store -- including serious hats (the 3 fedoras, the panama hat, and a newsboy cap); silly hats (a silver Mad Hatter'ish top hat, and a purple glittering witch's hat); and one (a bowler) which I suppose is technically a serious hat, but is kind of silly in a context of being worn today.  But there's still room for more -- I can see sometime wanting to own a formal top hat.  And maybe someday I'll get that beret after all.

They also had some really cute toddler sized knit hats done like various animals, but like the rain boots that Lorien recently convinced me not to buy on clearance, it's probably a better idea to wait until next fall before we buy any cold or wet weather gear for our fast growing little boy.  Not that we've had any problem in the past finding a .. really .. good .. selection .. of .. cute .. hats .. for .. Dylan.  Or just outfitting him in one of Mommy's or Daddy's hats.