All Over Albany

The hats at Soave Faire

Hats are not the first thing you'd expect to see at Soave Faire.

This throwback to old fashioned five and dime stores on Broadway in Saratoga is packed with the weirdest conglomeration of stuff: art supplies, toys, journals, cards, drafting supplies, museum cards and Saratoga souvenirs . And in the back, they do custom framing.

But I'm going back for the hats.

If you, like me, are one of those people who still wears a hat, Soave Faire stocks more styles than you could wear in a month, from fancy to casual to well--strange--in men's and women's styles.



Want your own pith helmet for whacking away at your overgrown shrubs this spring? They've got that ($30).

Or maybe you've always wanted to have a hat like Indiana Jones? You can get that too (an oilskin hat like that will set you back $60, no whip).

There are berets ($10), straw hats ($25), packable four-season hats ($45), women's formal hats (think flowers, rhinestones, netting) and a whole wall of men's caps, bowlers, derbys, Panamas, and fedoras, in solids and low-key patterns.



And yes, that's me in the bunny hat. If bunnies aren't your thing, there's a flying pig (the wings even move when you pull on strings that hang down on the inside of the hat), a chef's hat, a pirate's hat, an unadorned policeman's hat, and a white cap with Pippi Longstocking-like braids and all kinds of other fun hats.



If you've always kind of wanted to wear a hat -- or if you need one for a vacation, or to keep the sun out your eyes at an outdoor event like a graduation or wedding -- I'd check this place out before the mall stores, mostly because of the selection.

Be sure about your purchase though, because they're all final sale.