A Guide to the Best of Southern California : FASHION : For Mad Hatters

IT’S EASY TO FEEL like Alice in Wonderland when you’re wearing a Calvo hat by Ombretta Capecchi. Festooned with whimsical objects, they’re perfect for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.

Capecchi named her line for calvo, the Italian word for bald, and that playfulness comes through in her hats ($70 to $250). Some of the more unusual styles include a tall, black, silk witch’s cone embellished with tiny, black silk roses; a red boater with fuzzy fake bees and daisies; and a grocer’s favorite--a black top hat with artichokes, onions, eggplants, blackberries and carrots, all made of fabric. These hats are so extravagant, Capecchi says, that one must have simple but beautiful clothes to wear with them.

Calvo hats are available at Tyler Trafficante, 7290 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 931-9678; Shauna Stein, Beverly Center, 8500 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, (213) 652-5511; A.B.S., 1533 Montana Ave., Santa Monica, (213) 393-8770.