A date, a saint, and a lot of millinery
Why 25 November?
Who needs a reason to wear a hat? Fair point. But if you insist on one, here it is — kept fun, not preachy.
The short version
25 November is St Catherine’s Day. Catherine of Alexandria has long been linked with milliners and hatters, and in France the day comes with a glorious tradition of outrageous hats. International Hat Day simply borrowed the date and invited everyone else along — Catholic or not, single or not, twenty-five or not.
The Catherinettes
In France, unmarried women who reached twenty-five were once called Catherinettes. Friends made them hats — traditionally yellow for faith and green for wisdom, often wonderfully over the top — and crowned them for the day. They wore the hat all day, shared a meal, and hoped St Catherine might put in a good word on the husband front.
French milliners took the hint and turned the day into hat parades. The custom even spilled over into places like New York. We are not running a dating agency. We are very keen on the hat bit.
A saint with a wheel
Catherine was sentenced to die on a breaking wheel; legend says the wheel broke when she touched it, so she was beheaded instead. Charming people, those emperors. There’s a firework named the Catherine Wheel after her, which is a cheerier legacy. She’s also said to have appeared to Joan of Arc. History is complicated; hats are simpler.
Our take
Saint Catherine is a fine patron for milliners and hatters. International Hat Day is for anyone with a head. On 25 November we all get to join the Catherinettes for a day: wear something on it, take a photo, and share the joke.
Instructions: wear a hat of any kind and do something you enjoy.
The reason: who needs a reason to wear a hat?
The point: none!