Hats are amazing. Not enough events call for a hat (at least outside of England) and that is a shame.

Two weekends ago I attended a grand hat holiday. There were not one, but two hat requiring (to at least encouraging) events and that led to two new hats!

Where does one find a hat (or fascinator, in my case; I’m a bit on the shorter side and large fabulous hats end up making me look like a tack ) you ask? Well, in the past (that one other time I needed a hat) I ran around like  a crazy person asking everyone and anyone if they knew where I could find a last minute hat. This was effective although not ideal. This time, with a bit more of a heads up I was able to do a proper search for hat places.

For the first event I was invited to the Pacific Classic horse race at Del Mar. This called for a fancy hat (it didn’t, but I decided it did). In order to find the right hat I went to Louise Green Millinery & Hats in Los Angeles. This place was a hat wonderland. The store itself is out of sight, next to the freeway, in a nice building that reminded me of the movie A Little Princess for some reason (it really has nothing to do with the movie, on a similarly unrelated note, re-watch this movie! do it today!), and a small sign outside that referred those searching for hats inside.

The shop itself has the workshop in the back and racks of season appropriate hats and fascinators. They are beautiful and can be custom made if there is time – in this case there wasn’t. I ended up not getting a hat here however, as my dress was hot pink with purple and black and I did not find anything I liked for it. My companion did and looked absolutely fabulous.

I ended finding my fascinator in Studio Savvy in Del Mar, a hair salon that was showcasing Christine Moore hats (Christine was there too !)  from NY. There were all sorts of hats and fascinators. I fell in love with this one as it made me appear taller, had my favorite colors and, I mean, LOOK AT IT!!! Love at first sight.

The race was a lot of fun, and I guess beginners luck payed off, as I won!!! I betted on Beholder because I loved her story  (first female who could win the Pacific Classic) and going with your instinct seems to be a good betting strategy. The best part of the day was when the teller who took my bet for Beholder mentioned that I reminded him of Scarlertt O’Hara in Gone with the Wind because of my fascinator — He absolutely made my day.

For the second event I needed a more casual hat. During theVendimia at Ensenada (wine harvest) there is a Paella contest on the last day. About 100 groups participate, the paellas are cooked on site, visitors get to try them for free (while they last) and the judges decide on who wins based on taste, color, consistency etc at the end of the day. There is music and obviously, being wine country, there is wine, and all in all, I was the winner because it was a great end to a wonderful weekend.

All of this takes place outside, it is hot and extremely sunny and therefore, you guessed it—> HAT!

To keep the sun to of my face for Mexico’s wine country I went to Goorin Brothers in Los Angeles. They had all manner of Panama hats and the like, and a fair number of winter felt hats, and it was glorious. I ended up buying a straw hat that had a blue tint on the rim. It made me insanely happy and kept me sun free.

In conclusion, hats are awesome, buy a hat, buy two hats, and even if you don’t want to buy a hat, check out the Vendimina at Ensenada and the races at Del Mar, they are definitely worth your time.