How I came to own a cute hat

Department stores (especially ones as storied as the Bay in downtown Toronto) have a certain nostalgia and romance for me. Not surprisingly, when I had a few hours to spend in any way I chose on Saturday, I found myself wandering around the downtown Bay store. After my hours thinking about "Blade Runner" ish technologies the day before, I found great comfort in the elegant simplicity of deparment stores and, as it turned out, hat shopping. Here, ladies and girls of all ages tried on hats of all styles: dapper, dowdy, stylish, sensible, elfin and elegant. It hardly seemed like the futuristic world I had been immersed in the day before and more like a Katherine Mansfield short story. Here, strangers told strangers; "oh, that's lovely on you" or "oh yes, the burgundy looks much nicer! It brings out your eyes" or "It looks awful on me but I bet it would look adorable on you!" And so it is that I came to be the happy owner of a very cute wool Parkhurst hat that I've read about with nostalgic curiosity for many months. Parkhurst, by the way, was established in 1926 in Toronto and their hats are still made in Canada. Hurrah!