Who The Hats Fits:
Traditional Easter Fashion
Statements Rooted In Faith

By Michelle Sellers

As the Easter Parade steps up Fifth Avenue with its blaze of glorious and extravagant bonnets, Southeast Queens will be displaying its own parade of style, but in Queens, hats are also a matter of faith.

Hats as daily accessories are no longer en vogue; the fashion has been largely relegated to Easter time pageantry; however, as the PRESS found out, this is not just a Holy Week tradition but a matter of course in the Black church and exaggerated just a notch for Easter.

Ken Salini, store manager at Christina’s Fashion in Gertz Plaza Mall, confessed “Easter time is the season for hats,” because there “aren’t too many hat fans any other time of the year.”

But as shoppers canvassed the shop for prom dresses, dress suits, and accessories to suit them from head to toe, the special occasion for customer Egennie Campbell was her regular Saturday worship service at the Seventh Day Church of God. 

With the help of two friends, Campbell chose her powder blue, embroidered suit, then sought a hat for not only a fashion statement, but also a sacristy.

“You must cover your head as you enter God’s house,” Campbell said of her faith.

“Hats come from all over the city,” according to Salini who showcases more than 50 hat styles.  “Hats usually come in one size fits all,” said Salini, although you may “bring the style of hat,” to the store and “our hat makers will make one especially for you,” Salini said.

Once a shopper looks for the perfect suit with shoes, salesperson Denise Peruciel then finds a hat to coordinate the outfit.  “Hats go way back in the century,” Peruciel said adding that the “hat makes the woman’s beauty by bringing out her face.”

Noticing the amount of sales of at least “20 customers per day,” who come especially for hats, Salini said “they are coming back very strong.”  “Last year wasn’t like this,” Salini commented on this season’s ladies accessory.

David Glover, senior pastor at Linden Seventh Day Adventist Church in Laurelton, refered to the Bible and 1 Corinthians Chapter 11 to explain why some see hats as a matter of faith. Quoting from the King James version, “Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.  But every woman that prayeth or prophesith with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head… Judge unto yourselves.”

However, the pastor added that not all of the hat wearers in his congregation are looking to adhere to this passage. “Some schools of thought believe a woman’s hair is covering enough,” and others wear their best Sunday hat as a matter of fashion.

At Allen A.M.E. Cathedral, there is an annual hat show hosted by the church’s “Group Elizabeth” ministry. According to Virginia Stewart, a member of the group, this ode to the chapeau is used as a fundraiser for the church’s Allen Christian School.

The Allen hat show is a tradition that just wrapped up it’s 20th anniversary with a successful show two weeks ago.

“Wearing a hat in church is a tradition that stems from respect to God,” said Stewart. “But it’s also a fashion statement. I read an article recently that says that it’s mostly Black women who wear hats to church now. Hats have become part of the outfits and at our [recent] show we had over 200 varieties on display. We wear our Sunday best for God.”

Religious followers, who look to sacred scribes for direction along the path of righteous, focus on behavior and dress attire and are committed to the specific way of life.  Regardless of denomination, ladies and men alike have one thing in common - a fashionable hat is the perfect suit topper.

Extravagant head wraps and dressings are a tradition found commonly in churchgoers and were the “must have” in popular American fashion less than a century ago.

Just like history, fashion also repeats itself.  This spring, men who wore Kangol caps in the 1980’s can now return to the cap that has a shorter brim than your average baseball cap, but now comes in all colors and can be found in cloth, fur or leather designs at Jamaica Avenue-based, Empire State Clothiers.

The hats of choice in men’s dress apparel this season are the “Derby,” the “Godfather” and the “Untouchable,” hats, owner Alan Markowitz said.  The Derby has a high top and slim brim, the ‘Godfather’ has an extremely wide brim with a center crease and the ‘Untouchable’ looks slightly the same but has a shorter brim and band around it.

Color is also a pertinent factor when choosing a hat.  Deep purple, powder and royal blue hats accompany the suits of likewise color at the clothier with exact coordination; and don’t forget your colored feather in your ‘Untouchable.’

“As the weather gets warmer we will get straw hats,” Markowitz said of the reoccurring summer trend.

Ladies have not been forgotten as hat and suit designers innovate this spring’s fashion found in retail shops and boutiques along Jamaica Avenue.

A few retail shops found it fitting to offer ladies trendy hats in bulk, by the dozen or more, geared toward church groups and choirs. 

“A hat can start at $15, but if a church group wants a particular hat by the half dozen or dozen then when can talk,” salesperson Ada Nunez of Gorgeous Lady, Inc. said of the retail item that could be reduced and offered for a wholesale price. 

Although a hat is only an option when accessorizing, the style and shape of the crowning glory, in addition to color and texture are the main attraction, especially for women who have traditionally worn hat for religious gatherings and affairs.

“These are all of our hats,” owner Dave David said pointing to veiled hats, wide brimmed hats with colorful flowers and brims, found in a variety of colors and textures.

The price of the hat “all depends,” according to David mentioning color was not a factor.  “How big the hat is and the style,” determine the charge at his Jamaica Avenue location.