(Horse) Racing Country

Lexington is in a part of the country where women still wear hats. Not the beanie or baseball variety, but good, old-fashioned, pastel, wide-brimmed, coming-out-of-church-on-the-way-to-Sunday-brunch hats. I know this because a troupe of hat-wearing women just passed by. To me it seemed like there must have been a big event, but the waitress just shrugged. After all, to get to work every day she does have to pass the hat store in the lobby that stands alone from the gift shop. Because bourbon and hats apparently appeal to separate demographics.

Which prompts me to wonder: How big is the hat demographic and is it large enough to support an industry? To support even a hotel hat shop? It's not like this is Knotts Berry Farm where mom, dad and little Joey are going to dress up like it's the Old West and take black-and-white photos. This is the Marriott, which makes money by selling me the basics: shelter, food and USA Today. Headwear is non-essential. But not so in Kentucky, where it's no novelty. One needs a hat in order to attend the horse races. Just ask the Queen, who rocked the hat at the Derby like it was 1929.