LONDON ? France has the beret, while America has the humble baseball cap.
But Britain?s love of hats is in a different stratosphere. Bowlers, baker boys, top hats, boaters, deerstalkers and countless ladies creations have been worn by royals and commoners alike through the centuries ? a beloved tradition that will be in full force at Prince William and Kate Middleton?s April 29 wedding.
Bookmakers are already betting on the color of Queen Elizabeth II?s hat ? odds are on yellow ? and the designer making the princess-to-be?s honeymoon headpiece. The salmon-colored tricorn hat that Princess Diana wore as she left for her honeymoon in 1981 spawned hundreds of copies.
?When people think of hats, they think of her majesty the queen,? designer Philip Treacy, who is making some hats for royal wedding guests, told The Associated Press on Monday. ?They?re exciting hats to make, because hats and royal weddings are both about magic, happiness and a sense of celebration.?
Theories abound on why Britain became a country of mad hatters ? an expression referring to the Alice in Wonderland character whose loopy persona was based on the many milliners who suffered neurological damage as they inhaled the mercury used to cure pelts.
Britain?s lousy weather might have contributed to the national obsession, but experts say it?s the royal family that has kept it alive.
?Hats have long denoted status,? says Oriole Cullen, curator of a Victoria & Albert Museum 2009 hat exhibit that has since gone to Australia and heads to New York in September. ?Up until the 1950s, a woman wasn?t even considered properly dressed unless she was wearing a hat and gloves.?
The rebellious yet liberating swinging ?60s spawned a variety of hair styles that ? along with the cramped confines of the modern automobile ? prompted a steady decline in global hat sales, Cullen says. Many milliners also blame John F. Kennedy ? one of the first U.S. presidents not to don a hat ? for hastening the demise.
In Britain, however, the tradition has stayed stron
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