From wide-brimmed sun hats to simple cloches to fancy fascinators, hats and afternoon tea have an interwoven history dating back to the 1800s, when afternoon tea was introduced as a social event for English royalty.
Polly Claire's Tea Room keeps a stash of more than 200 hats for patrons to use while partaking in afternoon tea, and owner Rashelle Stafford said she often gets requests from guests to purchase their borrowed toppers.
So when she organized the Bonny Oaks area business's inaugural fundraiser for Bethel Bible Village last year, she knew a hat auction would go over well.
Through Wednesday, Aug. 21, Polly Claire's is accepting hat donations for the second annual FUNd Raiser for Bethel Bible Village, Hats Off to a Good Cause. Donors are welcome to design, embellish or purchase hats, with all profits from sales going to Bethel, a home for children and teens in crisis located in Hixson.
Stafford said she wanted to do a fundraiser to benefit Bethel because of its similarities to Bonny Oaks School, a children's home from 1895-1985. The school was located on the property of the historic Dent house - the area's only remaining antebellum home, built in 1854 by railroad contractor Jarrett Dent - where Polly Claire's now operates.
Six to 12 hats will be selected by vote Aug. 22-24 to be auctioned off, and the selected hats will be on view for bidding both in the foyer of Polly Claire's and online through the business's Facebook page. To bid online, people should send a Facebook message to Polly Claire's.
The other hats will be available in the Polly Claire's gift shop for a suggested donation of $20 per hat.
The donor of the hat receiving the most votes and the donor of the hat that brings in the most money in the auction will receive a free tea for two.
Prizes will also be awarded to the "best" hats - whether or not they were selected for the auction - in the following categories: Creativity, Glam, Edible, Recycled, and Vintage.
Examples from last year include a hat adorned with all types of jewels, a travel hat with pins from across the world, and a gardening hat decorated with seeds.
"Each hat that comes in is so different from the next," said Stafford. "It's going to be really hard to choose which ones will go in the auction. I'm just excited to see the whole thing unfold."
Winners will be announced Aug. 25 by 8 p.m.
Polly Claire's is at 6178 Adamson Circle. To learn more, call 521-4832 or visit the business's Facebook page.
Email Emily Crisman at ecrisman@timesfreepress.com.