By Joan Amenn

As Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) prepares to bid us all a final “good night” and end her five-year run on Amazon Prime, I would like to acknowledge some of my favorite cast members of the series, the hats. I tried my best to narrow my list down to just five but there are a few honorable mentions as well, because you can never have too many hats. Just ask Midge.

Pam from Madge’s HatBox is an absolute gem to chat with about all things vintage and even had a few of her gorgeous hats appear on “Mrs. Maisel.” She was kind enough to provide some historical context for this list and I am so grateful to her for her knowledge, style and sense of humor. Check out her site and maybe snag a little something for your final season watch party of “Mrs. Maisel” as we wave a gloved hand in farewell to these retro chapeaux:

1. The Infinity Hat

Is it a hat or a head band? According to Pam at Madge’s Hat Box, it’s a half hat. Yes, that’s a thing. I’ll let Pam explain, “According to the book Hatatorium: An Essential Guide for Hat Collectors, the definitive book on vintage hats, a half hat is a

“brimless shallow hat that usually sits flat on top of the crown – like an extra wide bandeau. Lilly Dache created the half hat in 1941 winning her an American Designer Award. Christian Dior designed veiled half hats beginning in 1947. They remained popular during the 1950s and morphed into variations including openwork half-hats comprised of a wired piping frame with flowers, feathers or other trims.” 

Midge definitely looks ready to have fun in the summer sun and her hair is sure to stay in place wearing her unique half hat as she wins (of course) at shuffleboard or lawn bowling.

2. The Miami Beach Hat

Midge gets a huge break opening for Shy Baldwin (LeRoy McClain) and he even offers to pay for her tour wardrobe. Silly man! This whole ensemble just screams Grace Kelly as Tracy Lord in the film “High Society” (1956). Her costumes were created by the incredible Helen Rose who later designed her wedding gown when she married Prince Rainier of Monaco. With that kind of pedigree, it’s no wonder our Midge decides to dress like a princess in Miami Beach. The hat is broad enough to keep the sun off her face but somehow doesn’t upstage her dress. Now that is how you make an entrance.

3. The Catskill Boating Hat

Yes, it does look like a lampshade but it’s also the most subtle part of this over the top ensemble and that’s pretty impressive. When Midge has to go boating with a rich doctor (Zachary Levi) to appease her mother, she breaks out the latest in women’s active wear. Not sure how anyone could be active with a small hat perched on their head but the tiny green bow and watercolor butterflies provide a nice counterpoint to Midge’s churning inner resentment.

4. Midge in Paris

Pink is a favorite color for Midge and appears frequently throughout the series as she often shows her mood through her clothes. This perky little plaid hat with its ribbons in the back is her attempt to fit in with Paris fashion. However, she quickly realizes that the women of France outdo her in their je ne sais quoi, particularly with their chapeaux. Midge’s outfit can be seen as not only an attempt to look like a cosmopolitan world traveler but, since her mother has left the family to fend for themselves, as a subtle way to comfort herself with her signature rosy ensemble.

5. Rose’s Bucket Hat

I could not complete this list without including one of Rose Weissman’s (Marin Hinkle) hats. Typically, Rose prefers turbans of various colors and textures but every now and then she wears a truly epic example of a milliner’s art. This bucket hat with it’s dangling cluster of grapes is either inspired or insane but there is no question that it takes immense self confidence to pull it off. Midge is obviously a chip off the old fashionista block who learned everything she knows at the knee of her (almost) always poised mother.

Honorable Mentions

When you look at this photo what do you first notice? No, not Abe’s (Tony Shalhoub) cape. The glorious hats! Each reflect the personality of its wearer perfectly, from Rose’s elegant, ribboned bucket to Midge’s high crowned toque to Shirley’s (Caroline Aaron) flowery topper. There is such a range of fashion statements in this one scene, it’s probably one of my favorites from the entire series. It’s even more hilarious when Susie (Alex Borstein) shows up dressed in her usual slacks and cap-but hey, she’s wearing a sharp new bowtie!

Enough cannot be said about Tony Shalhoub’s performance as Abe Weissman. As the patriarch of his clan, he brings an underlying warmth and self-awareness to his scenes, even when he wants to throttle Moishe Maisel (Kevin Pollack) or punch a CIA agent in the nose. This is a man who is at peace with his own tendency to tap dance on the edge of insanity because he knows the flip side of that is his genius for mathematics. In addition to all that, he has a unique fashion sense of his own that holds up against the excesses of his wife and daughter. However, this beret might not have been his best look but it is endearing in demonstrating how far he is willing to go to mend fences with his beloved Rose.