In the words of reknowned hat collector Ruth Edward Kilgour, "I have spent twenty-two years and have traveled 160,000 miles to gather overwhelming proof that hats have a deeper significance than mere whims of fashion. ... they involve ideas of ornament and distinction in a more marked degree than does any other form of dress.
Over thousands of years, hats have been a means of revealing the owner's sex, religion, matrimonial status, rank, profession or race, as well as reflecting the customs, industries, and architecture of the countries in which they were originated."