The Hat Ladies of The North Shore in the News
The following items appeared in The Lake Bluff Historic Society News. Text by Coordinator, Tayo Sosan; photo by Brian Briggs
Hats have always represented individuality, style and creativity for the ladies who wear them. They are icebreakers that pervade all niches of our society and, the more we know about hats, the more frequently we'll want to wear them.
I'm a hataholic, which means that I am a lover of hats and headgear. I grew up loving and wearing hats and headgear of different types. It's this love of hats that motivated me to start The Hat Ladies of the North Shore.
The Hat Ladies of the North Shore was started after ten friends of mine attended the YWCA of Lake County Circle of Women luncheon with me in October, 2003. In my invitation before the event, I encouraged my guests to 'please make it an Ascot-style luncheon' by wearing their hats to this event if they love hats. We all donned our hats to the luncheon that day, thinking to ourselves, 'There's just something special about a woman in a hat.' Every lady at our table received so many compliments that we all went home feeling very satisfied about he cause in which we had just participated.
As soon as I got home from the event, I went online to research the possibility of forming a hat club n this community, which would allow the wearing of different kinds of hats. After a little research, I found The Hat Ladies of Charleston, South Carolina and contacted the Top Hat and founder, Archie Barbara Burkel, about starting a chapter here in Illinois. The Hat Ladies of the North Shore was inaugurated during a tea at my home, on November 21, 2003.
Archie Barbara Burkel, who is referred to as the Top Hat, founded The Hat Ladies in 2001. Archie, a former resident of Lake Forest, grew up loving hats, but it took a move to Charleston, South Carolina to motivate her to do something besides simply wear them herself. he set out to encourage other ladies who love to wear hats to do so as well. What began in the spring of 2001 with four women has grown to more than 500 women today in Charleston. New members of all ages and backgrounds are joining each week, while chapters are forming across the country
The Hat Ladies love to wear hats and are making fashion statements every day. We wear them in the spirit of camaraderie and community service, thus we blend fashion with compassion.
We have no limit on membership because we believe the more the merrier. Our wearing of hats is all about old times and gentility, about helping others and about fellowship.
Volunteerism is the single most important part of The Hat Ladies. The beauty of The Hat Ladies is seen in the beautiful things we do, while wearing our hats. When ladies look good, they feel good, and when they feel good, they do good Here are some examples of how our hats have come to symbolize the best of camaraderie and community service:
In December 2003, The Hat Ladies of the North Shore visited The Lake County Haven in Libertyville. We brought ornaments for their Christmas tree and some items on the resident's wish list.
In March 2004, The Hat Ladies of the North Shore visited the hat shop and boutique of Ms. Rose Eisenberg in Waukegan. Ms. Eisenberg is a 91-year-old lady, whose stores was burglarized in October 2003. We went hat shopping at this store to help Ms. Eisenberg. Even The Top Hat from Charleston came with us on this trip.
In April 2004, The Hat Ladies of the North Shore visited Westmoreland, a geriatric home at Lake Forest Hospital. WE took some hats and mirrors and had the residents, both males and females, try on the hats that we brought and admire themselves in the mirrors. The lives touched by the simple hats placed upon not-so-simple heads was so marvelous.
Future volunteer plans of The Hat Ladies of the North Shore will include: Helping at Habitat for Humanity, establishing a monetary award for a graduating senior at a high school in the community, visiting children undergoing cancer treatment at area hospitals to decorate their own hats with them.\, visit with women undergoing cancer treatment and help them with how they can wear their headgear in different styles. The more we wear our hats, the more we realize the magic they can do for us and for other people.
At the upcoming Polo by the Historical Society of Lake Forest/Lake Bluff, The Hat Ladies of the North Shore are planning our first annual HATpening, which will be the Polo Promenade. AT this Promenade, we encourage everyone who loves hats; moms, dads, grandparents, and pets to wear their hats and join The Hat Ladies of the North Shore in this most elegant and meaningful stroll around the field.
The Hat Ladies add just the right balance of fun, elegance and grace to any event or occasion. Hats bring people together. What could be better than tat? So, throw your hats in the ring all ye Hat Lovers and join The Hat Ladies of the North Shore. We hope you'll join us for the Polo Promenade.
For more information on The Hat Ladies of the North Shore, contact Tayo Sosan, Chapter founder/Coordinator at scncare@aol.com or visit the Top at website at www.hatladies.org.
