I found it kind of distracting

But that's good, right?

I'm referring, of course, to Aretha Franklin's hat, at the inauguration.

Wow, all you have to do now is have something you design or sell show up on some diva and you've got it made (the hat, Sarah Palin's eyeglasses ...).

Not that I mind this guy getting even more made - he's a Detroit original.

The story line of a small family hat shop suddenly put on the map by a superstar is a romantic one, but it doesn’t quite fit the facts, Mr. Song said. Yes, his business started small, in a store opened by his mother, an immigrant from South Korea, in 1982. But Ms. Franklin has been a customer for two decades, and the business long ago outgrew the store: Mr. Song, who studied at the Parsons School of Design in New York and first thought he wanted to become a painter, dropped out after two years to return home and transform the business into a sizeable garment and millinery supplier, Moza Inc. (New York Times)

Near the end of the piece, Mr. Song says that

while customers are scaling back on buying clothes generally, they are still buying hats, because a new hat can change the look of an outfit for less money than a whole new ensemble would cost.

I heard this in a women's accessory shop in The Tannery while Christmas shopping. The woman behind the counter told me that, instead of buying a new coat this year, many women are just buying accessories to pin on their coats (or buying scarves).

Since I've had the same coat for about 3 winters - and I bought it used from Pandora's Box (on Pleasant St., and where I also got my red cowboy boots) in the first place - I could not relate to this concept.

I don't wear hats because my hair is so thick, it works as insulation. Which is great in the winter but sucks in the summer. Besides, I look goofy in hats.

But nice job on this hat. It was a real eye-catcher.