Try-it-out Tuesday: trilby*

BLACK Saks Fifth Avenue top, Off Fifth

trousers, Banana Republic

Scala Pronto hat, Ross

        I don't consider myself a hat person, but the culminating day of Spirit Week at school - Hats  & Shades Day - was the perfect occasion to try one on. It was fun to build the outfit around an accessory I don't usually wear! I initially considered doing a little pattern mixing, but decided to go with solids to let the hat stand out.
      * This post originally went live titled "fedora." Thankfully, hat connoiseur Aya of Couturgatory (go check her out, she rocks a genuine fedora here and a beautiful fall-hued bow-adorned beauty here) stopped by and enlightened me - this hat is actually a trilby.  I stand corrected.
      While I've been taking blog photos for years, I'm still surprised by how revealing a photo can be. For instance, while I like the top half of this outfit, I've realized that these pants need to go! I think they look so schlumpy here partly because I'm not wearing shoes (I wore this flat menswear-ish sneaker) but I can't deny that the fit is off -- they are still snug around the waist despite my losing some weight over the summer. I really need to shop for new pants, especially since one pair of my beloved Salt Works jeans has lost its stretch and I sadly had to add it to my donation pile. Searching for a decent pair of pants is such an ordeal! I'm wondering whether I can put off shopping and get through the rainy season with what I have. Maybe I can look at my pared-down bottoms collection as a capsule wardrobe vs. depleted?

        But back to the hat: We've established that I'm not well versed in millinery, but I was puzzled that Old Navy sent me an ad recently touting this hat as a fedora: 

  

       That looks much more like a generic "floppy hat" to me. 

       I'm not quite sold on this trilby - I feel like a hat with a slightly bigger brim (see above) would be more flattering on me. However, I'd like to style my new hat a few more times. I picked up a black shirtdress with a fuller skirt on my last trip to Savers and I think they might go together. I'm also wondering how it would get along with a black pencil skirt.  How would you wear this hat? Suggestions welcome!