The Hat Change Over

We've just celebrated the Victoria Day long weekend here in Canada. That means I can wear white clothing according to the Fashion Police. It also means I go through my hat change over. I love hats! It's one of the things that make me feel I was born in the wrong era, that and my somewhat rubenesque body shape. I watch all the British Royal weddings and some horse races just to see the hats.

I am frequently asked by friends how I store all of the hats as I live in a condo and therefore have minimal storage space. The top photo shows the winter hats on the wall of our spare bedroom. They are hanging on large hooks and many of the hooks have 2-3 hats (with the same crown shapes) stacked one on top of another. Some get stacked by going from small crowns to larger so I can get them all up there.

These are the boxes I use for storage; there are a few more in another closet which I haven't gotten down yet. Again, the hats are stacked inside the boxes, so that I can fit them all in. I store the boxes in four closets at the very top. My husband has put in extra shelves above the usual very inefficient closet shelves that are standard in most homes to make room for them. Twice a year I get out a stool so I can get the boxes down and do the seasonal change over. I also have lots of knit hats but fortunately they are much easier to store and don't need to be protected from crushing in the same way that the felts and straws do.