The New Chapeau

Ginger is hat shopping to impress. 300-word flash

The New Chapeau

Ginger sat in front of the mirror trying on hats at a milliner’s store. It had a French name and salespeople with French accents. She had to admit it made the experience more continental.
“I haven’t had a new hat in ages. Trying on is the most fun, but I need something stylish for church. The old biddies in the front row are always whispering about women who show up bareheaded.”
Ginger tried on extravagant plumed number and examined it carefully in the mirror.
“As a rule , I don’t wear feathers because…” her thoughts were broken by prolonged sneezing, so she quickly removed the hat and set it at a distance.
She selected a velveteen beret of deep purple. A small brooch marked the front of it.
“I feel like a rock star, but purple is for funerals, and I don’t own purple clothes to go with it,” she said.
She set a confection of tulle and diamanté sparkles on her hair.
“It’s barely a hat; I need something that makes a statement.”
She kept trying on more and more hats. She was surrounded by rejects on all sides. She had even put some on the floor!
A staff member hurried over to her with a singular hat in hand. It was a straw picture hat covered in sunflowers and black-eyed susans. A tiny veil covered it and could be pulled down.
“It’s perfect,” she whispered. When it was placed on her head, she smiled widely.
“I’ll take it!”
The price was shocking to her wallet, but she couldn’t leave it in the store. The hat was carefully swathed in tissue paper in a hat box. Ginger was walking on air, until she wore it to church that Sunday. Three other women had the exact same hat!