Ideal Bite

When I was in Venice last year, I escaped the millions of littering, rude fellow tourists and the resulting apathetic, run-down Italians by spending a lot of time in incredibly overpriced and relatively deserted traditional Venetian costume shops. (Sounds fun so far, huh?) But really, despite it all, I had a great time trying on fanciful dresses and masks and capes. And hats-one of which I ended up buying (see photo).

I had the hat shipped home, due to its delicacy and awkward size (and did a bit of carbon offsetting on my return). I love it and will keep it long past the time when people start wondering if I'll ever arrive at a costume party as something other than an eighteenth-century militia dandy.

And although the supercute hats in our tip today don't really require one, I thought I'd mention a few eco-hat box options out there, in case you have a giant, feathered number that needs storing like mine does. First check out eBay for truly unique vintage options. If you want cheap and basic, the Container Store has a set of three made from recycled fiberboard. And if you want to have a hand in designing your own, Sarah's Hat Boxes makes cute round fabric-covered versions from recycled chipboard and nontoxic adhesives.

-Jenifer Morgan...off to put a lid on it...