Wearing an Easter Bonnet with Style

One of my favorite family pictures is one of my Grandma wearing a bonnet. The picture is a black-and-white Polaroid, so I cannot tell what color the bonnet, but it looks as if it matches her dress. In my mind's eye, I imagine the dress and bonnet a pale lavender or crisp daffodil yellow. Since Grandma had red hair and always wore rouge and the reddest lipstick, the outfit may even have been a cool pastel green. Whatever the color, the bonnet looks smart with a wide bill and a satiny ribbon affixed around the cornice and tied under her chin in a large bow.

Grandma knew how to wear her Easter bonnet with style.

Although usually termed a hat in today's jargon, Easter hats still are bonnets. If you wear it upon your head specifically for Easter, then it is an Easter bonnet. Here are some tips for finding and wearing your Easter bonnet with style:

• Shop around. One of the best places to find an Easter bonnet is in a second-hand store. Visit your local thrift store and look for hats that you can decorate for Easter. When you find one, you may need to have it dry cleaned if it's made of cloth, or clean it yourself if it's made of straw.
• Find embellishments. A great place to go to find things to add to your Easter bonnet is a craft store. Michaels or Hobby Lobby will have everything you need to add to your hat to fashion it into a stylish Easter bonnet. Look for dried flowers, Baby's Breath, small birds and nests, ribbons and bows, and whatever else you might like to add to your bonnet to reflect your style.
• Multi-purpose hats. If you don't want to fashion your own Easter bonnet, use a hat that you've used for other occasions. Perhaps you've had the pleasure of attending an opening day horse race, and have dressed for the occasion, as is tradition. Ladies usually wear derby day hats, and they are grand. Wear the same hat that you were for the races for your Easter bonnet. Perhaps you can dress it up with more ribbon or bows to make it look a little different, or wear a different dress with the hat.

If the ladies in your church congregation traditionally wear Easter bonnets, you'll most likely follow suit. Or perhaps you've a family tradition of wearing Easter bonnets when attending your family Easter dinner. Whatever your reasons for wearing an Easter bonnet, make adjustments to your bonnet to reflect your style.