I like a hat that can multi-task.

Living in the Snow Belt like I do, you learn pretty quickly that layers of clothing are your best bet for surviving the winter months. You learn that of the three shirts you wear on any given day, one of them had better be thermal. You learn that knee socks and above-the-knee socks are a godsend for keeping your legs warm. And finally, you learn that the three items that you really can't do without are scarves, hats and gloves.

Which is why it doesn't surprise me at all that the scarf hat has made such a comeback in recent years. It combines all three of these things in one item, thereby making it that much less likely you are going to accidentally lose any of the above.


As you can see, it works basically like this: it's a scarf wide that you can drape over your head, wrap around your neck a couple of times and has pockets at the ends that serve as mittens.

Which is actually not a bad idea, all things considered. Hey, considering all the layers we have to put up with, it's nice to know that there's one thing we can pull on and it takes care of three different areas; head, neck and hands.

Although, if you're not too fond of the hood-like hat, there are other options. Observe:


See? This one comes in more of a bobble hat model. The scarf part is also a bit skinnier, so it doesn't have the mitts at the ends. Which is fine if you already have a set of gloves or mittens that are more than capable of taking on winter, but for those of us out there who are looking for a whole new set, you can't get more economically-sound than the hooded kind.

However, I do see one problem with the scarf hat, and that basically has to do with how it's being marketed. Check out this pattern and see if you can find the reason why:


In case you were wondering, the troubling word there is "scenester". Which, if Urban Dictionary is doing its job correctly in keeping me informed, is a derogative term for wannabe scene kids. Not to mention that I don't think a scene kid worth their weight in hair product would actually wear these things: they're just not hardcore enough.

However, I could totally see hipsters jumping all over these things, but I'm not even going to go there. Talking about hipsters is like inviting ravers to the goth club--IT NEVER ENDS WELL. EVER.

So on that note, I'm going to just shut this post down and call it a day, and wonder why the most popular pose for these hats involves a woman looking meditatively away while holding a mug full of a hot drink. I think I'll be safer that way.