Shopping

12 Statement Hats to Wear to the Horse Races

A Virginia Gold Cup hat contest judge rounds up a dozen très jolie toppers to pair with your sundresses.

Foxfield is this weekend, the Virginia Gold Cup is the weekend after that, and then Preakness is happening May 19. Holy moly guys, horse race season is officially here. And for us Metropolitan-area dwellers, the wardrobe required can be something of a departure from our standard weekday dress, to say the least. Out with the black pencil skirts, and in with the floral sundresses. And the hats! Now there’s something we’re not exactly browsing the stores for every day. Lucky for us, local blogger Liz Fassbender of So Much to Smile About is sitting on the judges’ panel of the Gold Cup hat contest, and has graciously offered to do a little pre-event shopping with us. Behold, her selects for chic, statement-making race-day hats at every price point. Happy shopping!

PS–Check back tomorrow for a roundup of cute dresses from Style Within Reach‘s Caitlin Moran, a Shop Around contributing author and fellow Gold Cup hat contest judge. And if you’re interested in trying on some designs in person, Northern Virginia Magazine has a helpful list of hat stores at the end of this article