Hats Off to Fancy Easter Bonnets

An Easter bonnet by any other name would seem as sweet, but women might not wear it. This time of year it’s different. A flash of memory from some Easter parade or egg hunt past can excuse a new bonnet that might otherwise appear excessive.

“People think more creatively, feel lighter spirited,” Laurel Fenenga finds of the Easter season. She is one of three California-based hatmakers known for their fanciful styles. Romantic straws with roses or shells tucked under their wide brims are her most popular hats right now.

Hats that spring feathers from the crown or sparkle with gemstone-

dotted veils are the type Kenneth D. King hand assembles--not more than eight in a season.

Rosemary Warren’s old-fashioned Easter bonnets are a showcase of cabbage roses, French ribbons and berry trims she hunts down in milliners’ archives. She purposefully decorates them to excess for her idea of California Easter bonnets: “Very country and very wild.”