No flap from wearing a trapper hat

NEW YORK — The key to wearing a trapper hat on your head lies at your feet.

This is the lesson learned when I wore one of the cold-weather toppers — with signature earflaps — on several recent occasions.

I'll be the first to declare the first outing a fashion don't. It was a chilly but not cold day and I was dressed in black wool pants, a long black wool coat and tall black boots. It was the perfect outfit for me to wear to a Manhattan office, except for the hat.

New Yorkers are far too preoccupied with themselves to notice my hat, but I thought I felt like I stood out like a sore thumb.

Did I mention the wooly hat has a Nordic Fair Isle pattern in rich jewel tones and faux fur lining?

I thought I'd probably never wear the hat again. But I did.

One morning when there was a light dusting of snow, I grabbed the hat on my way out the door, again heading to work. But this time, because of the snow, I wore my rubber-tread L.L. Bean boots — and, like magic, the hat seemed fine — and this was still with my wool coat, mind you.

I've now worn my trapper hat (which came from Eddie Bauer and was originally priced at $39.50) many more occasions, with a brown shearling coat, with a ski jacket in rural Vermont, with a fleece in suburban Connecticut. Each time, though, it's been with rugged, outdoorsy footwear.

Sure, it looks even better when also paired with jeans, turtleneck and chunky wool sweater, but I'm no longer self-conscious in it on the street. Maybe I'm comforted by it's coziness.

The only comments I've heard from friends is that the trapper must be toasty for the coldest winter days. OK, a handful have also played with the flaps on the ears, but not to the point of annoying.

I have noticed many people wearing these hats this year. I don't know if it's because it's a bona fide trend like retailers were telling me earlier in the season, or if it's been colder, or if it's like when you get a new car and suddenly you start noticing that everyone else seems to have the same make and model.

Even my 6-month-old nephew has a trapper hat of his own. It's a soft faux-deerskin with lambswool lining. He's accessorizing with fleece bunting.

My husband has worn my hat on occasion, thankfully on the weekends when he too is wearing winter boots. He loves the warmth and, if it weren't for the purple-based color scheme, he'd look like a macho lumberjack. In this particular one, however, he looks more like one of those colorful characters from "Northern Exposure."