But remember loyal fans [and first timers. Hello first timers! Become loyal fans, it's easy] that hat week isn’t just for a week. It’s for life. Well it was actually 16 days, and there’s another one on the way, but I digress….

There doesn’t need to be an occasion to wear a hat, there needn’t be appalling weather (though wear a hat in poor weather) just wear a nice hat for the hell of it. Have a good one, and always tilt to the left.

Oh yeah, go see Monsters vs. Aliens. Watched it in 3D, with 3d glasses that were actually able to fit over my real glasses. And occasionally the 3D is a bit of a gimmick, but it really does help the story along. Enriches the whole experience.

“By Hawking’s chair!”

The snood is a strange garment; I own several of them, all of them which I won in my university Pub Quiz. They can be worn in several configurations, two of which I have pictured. It’s actually quite warm when worn face-mask style in the winter, even if you do look a little criminal. It’s cold damn it, and I pull it down when I’m indoors so stop following me security guard. Criminals wear hoodies these days.

Look after the jump for just one of the several hat configurations of the snood.

I’ll stop hat week soon. Promise.

This is my black beanie hat. It’s the simplest hat I own, and it’s alright in a pinch. The only reason I’m still doing hat week is because I can’t bear to let it go. I wear a hat every day, the only reason I didn’t usually wear them in the daily picture is because I was trying to track me, not me wearing hats. Which is why I decided to do a hat week: me in hats, for the fans you see.

Another hat post tomorrow. And maybe another one the next day. Possibly.

….more than likely.

Edit: I freaked myself out today, I forgot to sign on. The money arriving on Tuesday threw me and signing on completely slipped my mind. Not to worry, I signed on the next day and all was well. It’s a bit fantastic when a rigid system occasionally flexes a little to help you.

Taken this morning. For a more recent picture from today look below the jump.

That’s right! I got a haircut. Doing this hat week has reminded me of how much I actually love wearing my hats and the long hair didn’t make that easy. It’s been awkward wearing some of these hats because of the hair. When my hair is short is grips the hat onto my head, sort of like velcro, and prevents the hat from blowing off my head until the winds get properly strong. There’s no slipping, my hair doesn’t hurt anymore, and generally it’s easier to wear my hats.

I took my own advice from the first hiatus day: I like my hats more than my hair, so I got a haircut.

Clockwise from top left:

1. Black instripe trilby: a fairly recent purchase – Pennys of Letterkenny

2. Black and White Dogtooth trilby: worn in perfectly – Pennys of Letterkenny

3. Blue Engineer’s cap: One of the earliest hats – Can’t remember

4. Black and Red trilby: Found a matching shirt – Pennys of Letterkenny

 
She’s becoming quite the hat enthusiast. Pennys isn’t a hat shop or anything, it’s just a chain clothing store in Ireland and the UK. So it just goes to show what a little determination and a small budget can get you these days. Just keep your eyes open and you can find some real treasures.

Edit: Stephanie found a nice grey trilby in a charity shop on the morning of the 7th, I’ll get her to email me a picture as soon as possible for inclusion in this article.

My picture after the jump because sadly I’m not wearing a hat today. I’ve run out of hats to take pictures of. Sure I have a beanie or two, but those are necessary hats, not fashion hats. I do have one or two more hat related articles though, then it’s back to regular service.

Tune in tomorrow for a devastating reveal! *soap opera closing music*

One of the three hats I got for Christmas, courtesy of my brother Eamon. I introduced him in an earlier post in case you want to go back and see me beside him. As a sort of proof… that we’re related.

I prefer to wear it with the top flipped up as it’s slightly tight on my head when the top is clipped down. It’s one of those “One size fits most” sort of things. And if you’ve been reading hat week then you’ll know how I feel about that.

Tune in tomorrow for a special guest and her hats.

Did you check? Welcome to straw hat season. This is my straw hat, it’s a fine wee piece and it’s gotten a fair share of compliments.

Really and truly I fancy a straw gambler hat. But they’re a tad hard to come by over here.

Which reminds me! Some table polishing children:

http://www.themadcarpenter.com/donations/

It is now possible to donate to The Mad Carpenter via paypal, and if you do donate, you can put a link to your website underneath the paypal button. Cash would be very much appreciated to fund my various endeavors, such as Project S, which I’ll let you know about in the coming days.

Snazzy isn’t it? It’s made of durable ABS plastic, it can take a knock or two and it’s much more interesting that the usual fare. I wouldn’t suggest it for motorbike riding, but it does me on my bike.
My White Bicycle

That song is about cocaine. Or some other white powder. Great song.

Edit: Just realised I’m listening to songs from the Vietnam war era, and wearing an American Military Helmet. Nice one Dave

Isn’t it a bit awesome? A bit really awesome?

So I was in Derry one day, with about 30 minutes to kill between the bus that left me in Derry and the bus that was going to take me the rest of the way home. Made a wander over in the direction of a local fast food joint when I happened upon The Walled City Market, a local market that operates in Derry every couple of months. So I wandered around to see such delights as hand woven baskets, jewelery, fortune telling, and an entire pig on a spit.

See the end of this compelling story after the jump.

While eating my spit roasted pig sandwich I wandered past a booth. I did a double take upon seeing a straw hat for 3 Pounds. I’d always fancied a straw hat so I started to study the booth… slowly letting my eyes drift upwards past fedoras, cowboy hats, trilbies, getting more and more pleased to see all these wonderful hats at such cheap prices. Then there it was. Sat atop a mannequin head at a jaunty angle:

A top hat.

Seeing the “30 pounds” sticker on it I ran to my bank and withdrew the cash, ran back and was about to hand over the cash. I stopped. I realised that I hadn’t tried it on. A moment of sheer terror gripped me: What if my size wasn’t there? I have a big head, this was a real concern. I tried on the 60cm version and it sat right on there. Perfect.

I dashed over to the bus station, and smoked a victory cigarette in my top hat while waiting for my bus. That day, was a very good day.

The sun shone the whole bus ride home. I’ve loved my Top Hat ever since, and it’ll remain the jewel of my hat collection for quite some time. Well, until I get a taller one.

My beret, the second of my hat collection. This was the tipping point at which I discovered that I was collecting hats. I got tired of waiting for hats to fall into my lap, so I took it into my own hands, measured my head, went to the army surplus store in Letterkenny and ordered a black military beret. This has also provided the true measurement for my head, as the beret has a great big 61 printed on the inside.

I don’t often wear it, as I tend to think I need hats with brims to make my head look the right size.

Tomorrow – The proverbial crown in my hat collection.

Au revoir capitaine.