In the middle ages religion decreed women must wear hats. Fortunately, canny females realized wearing a hair-flattening, brow-overshadowing device didn't mean it couldn't be pretty. Thus was millinery, or the art of hat-making, born. By the 40s summer hats reigned supreme. Then the sixties emerged. Even Jacklyn Kennedy, appearing delectably decked out in an array of summer hats on the arm of her presidential hubby, couldn't stave of the disappearance of summer hats. Draft cards got burned. So did bras. It seemed both ladylike attire and summer hats were superfluous. Summer hats as decor went underground. Then a shy teacher-turned-princess wowed the world with her warm heart, her puckish humor, and her unabashed use of summer hats.

Today summer hats as fun fashion pieces are making a comeback. Keep your furry flap-sporting staple and your array of summer baseball caps by all means. But consider branching out too. Instead of just a basic white baseball cap, try a feminine pink, or a neon shade. Express yourself with a SWAT Team cap, or a, K-9 unit cap. Spread your wings ever further. Move away from summer baseball caps altogether.

Reference your favorite movies with summer hats. Go androgynous-sexy in a classic black or brown fedora that references 'Annie Hall.' Get your Fred Astaire on with a deluxe satin top hat. Like urban chic? Go 'Newsies' with a fun, brightly-colored newsboy cap in green, yellow, or orange. Don't forget 'Urban Cowboy.' Summer hats don't stop playing when the sun goes down. Nor does referencing a great movie mean you can't bring it up to the millennium minute. Go Travolta one better in a pink or black cowboy hat spangled with LED lights.

Summer hats are fun, versatile and affordable. Summer hats walk the streets and strut across the dance floor. Try a Rasta-inspired beanie. Get a party-perfect sequined number for Mardi Gras or for St. Pat's. Once you realize that summer hats are so much more than baseball caps, that they can go anywhere, grace any occasion, then the only thing stopping you from having every sort of adventure in summer hats is your imagination.