Research Before Breakfast: Hat Pins

 This is a new column that may induce a bit more daily to the 365 format of this series of blogs. The idea is that I'm brewing while I'm catching up on all the activity that happened between when I went to bed and when I woke up, and in this global society where I have friends in more than 10 time zones at any given time, and my local friends have friends in multiple time zones, there can be a lot of activity during my sleep. But before my coffee brews, I will find some question to answer, some thing to look up. Welcome to the first edition of this column.

Wear a Bowler Hat Day was designated yesterday. I'm not sure where it came from, but our Tuesday Muses writing group came decked in rounded caps. You can find them on Facebook if you must see. 

http://www.target.com/p/men-s-
adult-bowler-brown-hat/-/A-11317331

But Wear a Bowler Hat Day is not just a random hat you've bought at Target. No, this group has craftiness up its sleeves and there are things you must do to your bowler hat. You must make a clip, or some decor. Peacock feathers, gears, roses, buttons... you name it. And when you've made your hat-garnish, you must show it off, and there are limited number of people showing to the writers group and you know your friends in all those time zones will wish they'd have been there to see it. So you take a picture of your newly crafted clip modeled on your bowler hat. You post it, and people start talking about it. Then the conversation gets a little strange.

Someone asks if you need a hat pin, because they had been thinking of making one. No one in the conversation knows what a hat pin is for. The knowledge pool is limited. I have a hat pin in my jewelry box, handed down from who-knows-where. I don't know what to do with it, and it was long before I even knew what it was. I know there are many people out there just like me who have no clue what to do with said object. It's very sharp. Too long for shawls. Not for hair. Not a clue.

http://www.vixen-vintage.com/2012/01/history-of-hatpins.html

(I know what to do with hat boxes. I store my craft supplies in them and they are very chic all in a graduated stack.)

Turns out, Google knows all. Vixen Vintage is the first result for "How do you wear a hatpin?" They actually show you where to put the pin on different styles of hats, like here:

and here:

http://www.vixen-vintage.com/2012/02/how-to-wear-hatpin.html

and even have a suggestion for what to do if you have fine hair that may cause the pin to slip...

 try crossing bobby pins at the back of your head, and pin through that AND your hair.

 and also some common sense advice about the use of hairpins...

Pins don't secure a hat for high winds and dancing like a madman. 

So now I know, and so do you. And if you would like to purchase a handmade pin, you can find some like this for sale here:

http://www.genaconti.com/Hatpins.htm