On July 22nd I did a post about wanting to find a good Panama hat.
Thanks for all the great suggestions of where to find them.
I looked at a lot of high-end options and mass-produced options but the one problem that I couldn't get out of my head was the image of my new hat blowing down the beach never to be seen again.
In the end I found the perfect hat at (of all unexpected places) Marc Jacobs on Mercer St.
It only cost around $40 so if I lost it I was only going to cry a little. What really sold me on the hat was the "fiber" it was made of and how "crinkly/wrinkly" it could get. For $40 I can only imagine the hat is made from recycled Styrofoam coffee cups, but I'm OK with that.
To be honest, after wearing it for a while I am still debating if it is really me. I love the romantic Euro-allure of it but when I'm playing on the beach (and I mean playing hard - like paddle ball with a nine year old) it is hard for me to feel right in anything other than a Yankees cap and wrap-stemmed RayBan Aviator sunglasses.
For me, style is about not being afraid to try something new but being honest enough with yourself that even though "it" might be "fashionable", "it" might not be you.