Today’s weather has been utterly miserable. Outside it’s ainy, cold, grey and it seems like Spring is absolutely decades away – needless to say I am safely staying inside. But if I were, here’s some headgear I’d be sporting to keep me warm…

First off there’s French hat designer Lou Mistraou, whose creations can’t help but putting a smile on my face. These… aviator hats, shall we call them? … are so colourful and quirky they’re bound to cheer up anyone. I first spotted them when I was in Belgium over the holiday, but now I’ve properly fallen in love with them. They’re rain-proof in either leather or felt on the outside, but super warm and silky on the inside. Who needs an umbrella if you have one of these to keep you dry?

www.loumistraou.com



My second recent discovery also hails from France, Parisian hat makers La Cerise sur le Chapeau (literally: the cherry on the hat). Based in St. Germain des Prés, La Cerise sur le Chapeau is an atelier that creates panama-inspired hats completely made by hand, and completely customisable by yourself. With a handy little design tool, you can choose your basic model, colours of the hat, ribbon and wrap to create your hat in just 3 clicks.
Needless to say, I’ve been having a good play – in the name of research of course… I’d like a dark, thick felt version for winter – rain proof – and a bright and whacky straw version for summer like the ones below please…



And if you cannot choose, Net-a-Porter has a few ready-made options for you in their sale at the moment (for a whopping 60% off).

You can find the Green Fedora here, the Burgundy one here.