
For all of you ecologically-conscious pimps out there, here’s a green faux fur creation. (To be fair, most of this maker’s hats are lovely. Just not this one.)
et·som·ni·a (/etˈsämnēə/), noun, 1. a sleep disorder caused by obsessive Etsy browsing. 2. the surprising arrival of weird handmade merchandise ordered in one’s sleep.
“A hat should be taken off when you greet a lady and left off for the rest of your life. Nothing looks more stupid than a hat.” – P.J. O’Rourke
While casting about for my Etsomnia™ post about neckwear, I encountered so many bizarre hats, I just had to share the wealth. I love a good hat. I look like a complete tool in most of them, but I nonetheless continue to yearn for them and believe (all evidence to the contrary) that out there somewhere is just the chapeau for me. I can tell you I’m pretty sure it’s not among the offerings below.
As usual, the seller’s name below the picture links to the item for sale. For more Etsy fun, check out all my weekly Etsomnia™ posts!

I don’t know why she’s looking so judgy. This “Peppermint fascinator,” while smaller than the cartoon-dimensioned wad of wool to the left, still manages to be way, way too much. And if that’s real peppermint, it would also attract ants.

This darling little cocktail hat from HelloStrumpet restores my faith in headgear. Gorgeous!

If the designer really wanted to make this bird and nest hat realistic, she should have included some rubber bird droppings down the back. Also, she’s kind of reminding me of Kristen Schaal, bird and all.

As goofy as that vintage fruit hat is, this modernized version is really not much of an improvement. I do love how they styled her, though. Look at those perfect eyebrows!

You know the secret to keeping people away from you on the subway? Act crazier than them. This hat would get you 95% of the way. A twitch or two and no one would talk to you. Ever again.

What makes this adult-sized fish hat hilarious to me is not just how dopey it is. It’s also the complete humorlessness of the woman wearing it, who is either the designer or owes the designer money.

And while we’re exploring hats of the animal kingdom, get a load of this tool. I see this nonsense all over New York, and it makes me want to punch the wearers in the throat.

Presumably, the inspiration for this thing was something smelly viewed through a microscope. I especially love the little yellow lace bow, because that makes it all better, doesn’t it?

I looked at this one for a long time, and I’m pretty sure those are real hairballs. I’m assuming the seller has a lot of cats.

$1,315.57, AND it’s not meant ironically. The maker seems to think of this as high fashion. and this wasn’t really the craziest thing in the store.

I’m not going to tell you what this looks to me like a pile of. I’m just going to say it’s a good thing it’s not brown.

This one was so beautiful I wanted you to see it from all sides. The materials listed are “leather, blood, sweat, tears.” I believe it. Thoroughly impractical? Yep. Do I care? Nope. By Subverse



October 10, 2014 at 10:06 am
And – BONUS! –> You could probably use that studded, pink, tie-back thing as a headband! That is just gorgeous but I’m not nearly eccentric (or quite possibly RICH) enough to pull that off. Wow… milliners are a strange lot. 😀
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October 10, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Indeed they are, and your characterization of the person who’d wear the last hat as eccentric is perfect!
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October 10, 2014 at 10:10 am
I almost sent this — http://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2014/10/07/how-the-bird-hat-craze-almost-killed-the-dinosaurs/ — to you the other day but somehow it and the resulting rabbit trail didn’t seem to OBT. But your take on it would be, I’m sure.
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October 10, 2014 at 3:20 pm
I’d heard that before, but what a great article!
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October 10, 2014 at 3:41 pm
WOW. That fish hat? Some of these others… oh boy. Are people buying these? Are the shops getting good reviews? Fugly!
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October 10, 2014 at 5:27 pm
Hilarious, right? I don’t know if they actually sell, but every time I find one, I give a whoop of joy, so at least they’re making someone happy!
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October 10, 2014 at 4:14 pm
Awesome title for your post, absolutely awesome… and the hats were good too.
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October 10, 2014 at 5:27 pm
Thank you! I was rather proud of myself, truth be told.
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October 10, 2014 at 4:50 pm
The badger is the one that boggles my mind the most. I am in general a hat lover and can create some justification for most hats. But who wants a badger on her head? Who wants to hold a conversation with someone wearing a badger on her head? It’s like something out of a painfully surreal dream.
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October 10, 2014 at 5:28 pm
Agreed. I don’t want to have that dream (but now I’m sure I will).
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October 10, 2014 at 6:10 pm
I was actually just helping a friend at his storage locker yesterday and there were a ton of vintage hats that had belonged to his mother. Both fruit and feathers (that were shedding like crazy) were featured prominently. But I did score a sweet black velvet number and a beaded hat pin large enough to commit murder with.
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October 10, 2014 at 11:01 pm
That sounds fantastic! Post pics!
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October 11, 2014 at 7:01 am
Uh… Wow. You outdid yourself here. Crazy doesn’t get us half way there. I am buying that badger and giving it to someone with no sense of irony for Christmas. Just because.
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