There is definitely a hat for every occasion and in some cultures a hat denotes the wearers religious belief system. In both the Jewish and Muslim religions, males wear a small skull cap and in the christian religion,women cover their heads with a scarf when entering a place of worship.

Here in Australia ladies day at the Annual Melbourne Cup is an excuse to wear outrages hats and the more ornate the better. Millinery is a very skilled and creative profession and milliners work to create unique and sometimes very expensive creations to wear on that very special day in the fashion calendar.

Personally being somewhat vertically challenged is not conducive to hat wearing unless the hat is in proportion to my height but having said that I do love hats. In Ireland as in many other countries, weddings and other special occasions always called for a hat but these days that is not so much in vogue anymore. Men of course also can have some funky hats to wear and again the addition of a hat to the male outfit can look very stylish So hats can just be functional just to keep ones head warm on a cold day or a fashion statement for that special occasion