Dear Fashionistas,

Bonnets are back. That’s right, you heard me correctly - all the latest rage.

Now I am not talking about the traditional mid-18th century brimless house bonnet – those are so last century. I am referring to the ever-so-brilliant calash bonnet, with the intensely large stiff brim – you know, to protect your hair from the gale. (Thank you, Wikipedia, for clarifying such an important distinction in headdress history.)

How do I know they are back in style? Well, as Susan and I were leaving campus on Thursday, we caught a glimpse of a woman walking across campus wearing a burnt orange UT shirt and a daffodil yellow bonnet with a tiny pattern (perhaps floral?) – she was really too far away to tell what the pattern was. Since Austin is the fashion capital of the world, we see plenty of trendsetters walking our campus.

Don’t believe me? Consider the following t-shirt:

Not-so-fashion-forward, you say? InStyle Magazine, Teen Vogue, College Fashion, and the Fashionable Housewife (among others) beg to differ. Perhaps we’ll see tie dye bonnets soon.

Admittedly, tie dye shirts can be seen around town on many-a-fashion-forward Austinite, whereas the bonnet has yet to achieve such mass appeal. That being said, one can definitely understand how I might have questioned my initial assessment of this woman’s sleek and saavy sense of style. I decided to put out a feeler into the social media world and see what kind of responses I could get. I shared the following letter on facebook:

Dear Random Woman walking across campus, Susan and I want to know why you are wearing a bonnet. Please advise. Sincerely, Justin

Over the next twenty-four hours, I received a handful of outstanding conversational comments, including:

MR: is she the sun maid raisin girl? that would be fun…that is the only person I can think of who wears a bonnet :)

CK: Or, Holly Hobbie!

MR: oh fun game! Maybe strawberry shortcake?

JB: Perhaps a Precious Moments model?

TR: Perhaps she is Menonite

AM: Perhaps its Baby Jane.

LD: Omg can’t a girl wear a bonnet anymore!??? Maybe she was honoring one of the many fashion icons from little house on the prairie!

While the comment game provided some great entertainment, it also demonstrated the general population’s discomfort with fashionistas. I am truly sorry, 2010 Bonnet - perhaps the world just isn’t ready for you.


(Old woman in sunbonnet, (c. 1930) - Special thanks to Doris Ulmann for this fabulous photo)