Hats add personality to a wardrobe

“Cock your hat,” said Frank Sinatra. “Angles are attitudes.”

Both angle and attitude are still key when it comes to hats, which have been burning up runways and decorating the heads of celebrities from Rihanna to Kate Beckinsale this year.

“A lady has to have confidence to wear a hat,” said New Orleans-based milliner Yvonne LaFleur. “A confident lady is a very sexy lady. Men love ladies who wear hats.”

Suzanne Bishop, owner of Frankie & Julian’s in North Chattanooga, said she started carrying hats about a year ago and has found the experiment to be quite successful. One of the more popular styles, Ms. Bishop said, is an oversized knit beret worn pushed back on the head.

Menswear-inspired newsboy caps and fedoras also are available at Frankie & Julian’s. Cloche hats also sold successfully, despite the name being unrecognizable to some customers.

“That’s a little more fashion-forward for Chattanooga,” Ms. Bishop said. “(Customers) loved the hats, but they were like ‘cloche, what is a cloche?’”

Prestine Huckabay, a self-professed owner of “a ton of hats,” is a fan of the cloche or wide-brim hat. She adheres to two rules: She doesn’t wear hats after 5 p.m., and she doesn’t wear cocktail hats. A frequent customer of Ms. LaFleur, Mrs. Huckabay recently wore a small-brim hat with feathers, netting and ribbon to a wedding at the bride’s request.

Ms. LaFleur, who imports the bases of hats from France or the Czech Republic, said she loves the 1920s style of the standard cloche, wide-brimmed hats and “saucy-looking hats.”

She said she tends to make more hats for spring and summer, when they’re in higher demand for events, such as the Kentucky Derby.

Ms. Bishop, who orders reasonably priced hats from San Francisco-based Goorin Bros., is expecting about 15 styles to arrive in the coming months.