The Tale of a Cowboy Hat

Luna in a cowboy hat attending Harry Styles concert

While writing my recent Halloween blog, I was thinking about the accessories I use year-round that are rather Halloween-esque. Of all my accessories, one in particular stands out. I have had this black cowboy hat since the end of sophomore year. I never bought it. I simply found it abandoned at Spring Fling and saw its potential. The cowboy hat has made its presence known on campus, and I want to celebrate how versatile my friends and I have been with how we use it as evidenced through photos.

Luna in a hoodie with a cowboy hat over it, standing in a concert crowd

This was my first time wearing this fabulous hat. I found it on the ground and really liked it but didn’t trust it enough to put it straight on my head, hence the hoodie. I wore it for the rest of the concert. 

Friend taking a selfie with Luna in the cowboy hat in the background

I was so enamored with the hat that I continued to wear it in the dining hall that same day and ate my food with some country flair. 

cat napping next to cowboy hat

Spring fling is at the end of the spring semester, and we all finish finals and leave campus soon after. I decided to really take ownership of the hat and its presence in my New Jersey home made me giggle. This posing with my cat organically happened but I treasure this photo so much. I love my cat and I love this hat. Cat in the Hat could never. 

Luna in cowboy hat in Harry Styles concert crowd

The following school year my friends and I went to see Harry Styles at Madison Square Garden and we all wanted to dress up for the event. The dress code? Feather boas and cowboy hats. None of us had a feather boa, but I was proud to strut around in my hat.

Mirror selfie with Luna and 3 friends dressed for concert

You can barely tell I’m holding the hat here but I just wanted to show how we all dressed for the concert and also flex my Sunkist bag. 

Group selfie with Bao in cowboy hat, Chloe and Luna in background

We’re about to witness the hat making its rounds through my friend group. It was my responsibility to spread the joy of a cowboy hat. This was when our friend was hosting a housewarming party at her off-campus apartment, and the theme was cowboy, hence my flannel and braids. Bao called first dibs on the hat. 

chloe in cowboy hat and all blackchloe in cowboy hat and bao in pink dress

This is from a campus social event where the theme of the event was Barbieheimer. Naturally, the hat evoked Oppenheimer’s energy and was utilized here to compliment the Barbie pink outfits. 

luna wearing cowboy hat with stuffed animal on hat holding pieces of her hair

This is super random, but I actually already walked in my graduation despite still being a student; there are a lot of students with non-traditional paths here, and I happen to be one of them. Given this, I took part in Yale’s graduation traditions, including Class Day. Class Day has the graduating class wearing fun hats, among other things. I wanted to incorporate my cowboy hat, but it was only the base of what was meant to be a Ratatouille knockoff. I used the real stuffed animal on my bed and had him hold strands of my hair. 

caleb dressed up as medieval peasant man with cowboy hat, chloe looks startled and dressed up in medieval wear

Okay, where do I start with this one… So my friends and I like to play Settlers of Catan which, if you’re not familiar, is basically ancient city development and colonization formatted into a game. It’s actually a very fun game and wildly beloved. We always play music off our TV when hanging out, and this time we searched “catan playlist” on Spotify. The music played is best described as medieval and nostalgic for a time before sewage systems. Naturally, we felt the need to dress the part, and the hat, while not historically accurate, helped achieve this look. Caleb was aiming for a poor peasant boy. Chloe absolutely killed her medieval cosplay, but her thousand-yard stare in this picture never fails to make me laugh. 

friend wearing cowboy costume, posing with friend

Most recently, my class friend told me he was celebrating Halloween for the first time (he’s an international student from Nigeria) and that he planned to dress up as a cowboy. I immediately offered my hat and was honored to be part of his Halloween history!  I look forward to wearing and having my hat worn by friends for years to come.