Hat: the wardrobe staple

Hats are a staple in my closet for many different reasons. But over the past year or so, they have truly taken a front seat in my wardrobe. I know what you are thinking, “it’s just a hat, what’s the big deal.” Well, when I delivered at 25 weeks, my life consisted of going to the NICU every day to visit my twins. It was the longest, hardest, scariest moments of my life. While a few of my friends told me of their experiences at NICU, they were a bit different from my own experience. Although I was excited to visit my twins, there were certain limitations, which made me nervous. I had to hold them a certain way, ensure I wasn’t feeling sick and internalize all the machines that were in their room. The amount of beeping those machines do are annoying AF.

So, with all that being said I wasn’t the fashionable Danielle that I once was. I was exhausted from going to the NICU, trying to recover from my c-section and understanding that being in the NICU was a marathon. Every day I would wear a hat. Whether that hat be a fitted hat I borrowed from my husband, a fedora, or beanie I had a hat on. It became a staple. Not intentionally a fashion statement, but to hide my face. I mentioned earlier that going to the NICU was exhausting. It became even more difficult after I lost one of my twins. Can you imagine the complexity of returning to the same place every day but only visiting one daughter when you delivered two? Some days, I can't either. So, the hats I would wear everyday also hid my pain, and disbelief in my motherhood journey. 

I did not realize in that moment that I was planting a seed that would have an impact on me and my future brand. I can remember one day, during a NICU visit, my husband mentioned it being time for a new hat. At the moment, I was upset thinking, “I don't want to shop, I want to be left alone.” However, he insisted on getting me a new one because it would make me feel better. I didn’t want to make a deal out of it, so I said, “fine take me to Target.” He knows target it my first love and it was close to the hospital. He bought me a really cool neutral beanie. That beanie became my new go-to. In those moments, I didn’t realize that I also was cultivating the brand of StyleXgrace. I share these memories with you because in our darkest moments you or I may not see the light, but it does exist.  

I have linked some of my favorite hats.

Go in Grace,

Danielle