"Wearing a hat versus not wearing a hat is the difference between looking adequate and looking your best."
— Martha Sliter
"Adequate" is a devastating word when it comes to style. Nobody dresses up to look adequate. You dress up to look remarkable, memorable, and completely yourself. And Sliter is right: the hat is what makes the difference.
I see it at every racing carnival. Beautifully dressed women who look lovely but somehow unfinished, because the hat is missing. And then the women who added that final piece and look absolutely complete.
The gap between adequate and your best is surprisingly small. It is one well-chosen fascinator, one perfectly proportioned hat, one deliberate finishing touch.
"Why settle for adequate when your best is one hat away?"
— Kathryn Lee
Fun Fact
Sliter's quote has become a rallying cry in the hat-wearing community. It appears on millinery studio walls, in fashion columns, and across social media. Its power lies in its simplicity: it does not oversell, it does not flatter, it simply states the truth. And anyone who has ever put on the right hat knows exactly what she means.
