make myself a FABULOUS hat for the Kentucky Derby!

So I’ve been out of the 43 Things habit for several years now, but I’m back! And in the meantime, I decorated this hat, which I think is pretty fab.

As a native of Louisville, Kentucky, I’ve grown up with Derby fever every spring. Huge, ornate, fanciful hats are de rigeur for women attending the Derby… especially the well-heeled, wealthy ones who are doing it up in high style, but also for the broke-ass ones like me who’s either out in the infield or at a big house party somewhere!

I’ve always had some kind of fun hat: last year’s was a red straw hat with a huge brim that I completely covered with a red and black feather boa. But this year, I feel it’s time to really go for the gold and let my creativity run rampant! I’ve seen plenty of fancy hats and thought, “I can do better than that!” And after all, if I find that I’ve got a real touch for designing hats, I could turn it into a seasonal business… you would not BELIEVE what women will pay for hats for the Derby! A relatively plain straw hat that might normally sell for $20 will mysteriously jump to $100, and that’s just the low end, with no frills or frou-frou. And frills and frou-frou are the order of the day for Derby… the hats are almost as much a competition as the racing!