Hats Off to Obama (and to Charity)

The inauguration of a new president is all about change, particularly this time around. But there are some old school classics that are worth keeping. Case in point: a traditional men's dress hat, which immediately brings to mind the mid-century era of "Mad Men" and martini lunches and constantly gives off a respectable air of nonchalant cool.

Since it works as well with jeans as it does with a dress suit, a classic trilby or bowler hat could just be the ultimate men's accessory: reliable, versatile, always appropriate and effortlessly stylish. The panache of that finishing touch hasn't escaped America's presidents, most of whom have been sworn in wearing a classic topper. (It doesn't hurt that Washington, D.C., in January is typically freezing cold, the ideal hat wearing weather.) And for some of this century's greatest presidents — like Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower — the choice of hat brand has been the same: Stetson.

For today's inauguration, Stetson has teamed up with a filmmaker named Josh Shayne on a quest for a cause … or, more accurately, two causes. Shayne's mission for the last couple weeks has been to convince Barack Obama to wear a Stetson hat as he's sworn in today. An entertaining blog, hatforobama, has been set up to document the adventure; from the looks of things, the undertaking has been arduous, exhausting, frigid and a whole lot of fun. (Check out the inauguration video at the link above — as if you really need an excuse — to see if his mission was a success.)

But there's more to this timely blog than mere entertainment. Stetson has created a special collection of presidential hats that are being sold on the site, with a percentage of proceeds going to Hats Off to Cancer, an organization that donates hats to children who have lost their hair while undergoing cancer treatments.

The hats — the sort of perfect-with-everything basics that are worth investing in, even in today's economy — come in three different price points, with between $5 and $25 from each sale given to the charity. Up to $50,000 has been earmarked to go to Hats Off to Cancer from sales through Shayne's website, which will stay up even after today's inaugural events. Politics aside, helping kids with cancer as you invest in a wardrobe staple is always a winning ticket.

Stetson Presidential Collection, $95-$295. www.hatforobama.com.