Claire Crisp: Big Hats & Big Horses...Yes Please.

Polo Style

DO: Hats A little known fact: women in the UK do NOT wear hats to traditional polo matches. Here in the US, we like to make our own rules (or maybe it was Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman who made that rule for us...) Hats are the accessory for a stateside polo match. The Brits get to wear fancy hats or fascinators for everything from tea time to a wedding, so polo matches can be our time for fun.

Don't: Gloves Just NO. (It's not your Mother's polo match!)

Do: Scarf or shawl. This is a polished look that also works if it gets a chilly. Or use as an impromptu blanket on which to lounge while you sip champagne.

Hat Tips
Here is a break down and a little history of the classic hat styles you might see at the match.

The Cloche, a style that was very popular in the 1920s, is a great shape on a lot of women.

The Fedora, a style stolen from menswear, is always a hot look and can be classic or trendy with diversity in proportion and color

The Picture Hat - long the definitive hat for many-has a crown, large brim and should have a decorative something that makes any outfit pop.

The Fascinator is new to the American fashion scene and can contain a wisp of feather, flower, and/or veil. Sexy, and fun, flat or dimensional, this headpiece always wins.

A LITTLE GOVERNORS ISLAND BACKGROUND...

Governors Island, in the heart of New York Harbor, is only 800 yards from Lower Manhattan, and even closer to Brooklyn. It is a world unto itself, unique and full of promise. For almost two centuries, Governors Island was a military base - home to the US Army and Coast Guard. Due to changing needs in operations, the Coast Guard closed and “mothballed” the Island in 1996. New York's leaders recognized the Island's potential, and in 2003 the federal government sold most of the Island to the people of New York for one dollar. At the turn of the 20th Century, polo on Governors Island was one of the highlights of the summer season for the city's social elite. In 2008, Veuve Clicquot brought polo back to Governors Island after a nearly 70 year lapse. Today, the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation (GIPEC) oversees 150 acres of the Island, while the National Park Service manages the balance, the 22-acre Governors Island National Monument which includes two 1812-era forts.

NOW- WHERE TO BUY AN AFFORDABLE HAT THIS SUMMER...