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 In celebration of this week’s QAG opening of Hats: An Anthology by Stephen Jones, TESS CURRAN chats to Brisbane’s own hat lady DJ PENNY LAME about just what goes on atop that head of hers...
TESS CURRAN: When did your love affair with hats begin?
PENNY LAME: I first went a bit nuts for hats when I was 16. I saw the Vanity Fair ‘Cool Britannia’ issue with Isabella Blow and thought she was just some fabulous nut with a giant thong on her head. I lived in Woodridge so obviously could not wear anything out that way without getting my head kicked in, but Issy [Blow] definitely sparked my love of hats.
TC: How many do you own?
PL: I think I have about 70 currently. I try to cull every six months when something just gets too played out.
 TC: Woah. That’s a lot of hats. Where do you get most of them?
PL: I buy a fair amount from Gail Sorronda. Her headpieces are beautiful and versatile and people always stop me to ask about them. I also get some from Alannah Hill and make a lot myself.
TC: What would you say is the strangest or most inappropriate time you’ve worn one of your hats?
PL: I wore a huge witch’s hat for my high school yearbook photo. It was snuck into the magazine. Also when I visit my mum in Wondai – I don’t think they quite “get” my love affair with headgear up there, so I stick out like crazy. I also wear an epic showgirl feathered headpiece to Ric’s when working sometimes. Or a shoe for a hat. I wore my [taxidermy] budgie to a vegan restaurant once. I felt like a jerk then. I just forgot I was wearing it.
“I have tried to dress my cat Poppy in a hat and cape before. She ran off down the road in an Alannah Hill cravat/cat cape and Andrea Crews hair hat.”
TC: Yes, tell us more about your taxidermy pieces. How does it feel to wear something that was once alive on your head?
PL: I only have a few [taxidermy] pieces so far – a mouse, a budgie and a rhino beetle. It doesn’t give me wicked vegan catholic guilt or anything because the mouse was frozen to be fed to snakes, and the budgie went from a breeder to the taxidermist and the beetle was found on the roadside. I don’t think I could wear a kitten or anything, but it isn’t that different to wearing leather shoes really. These days you can’t just shoot and stuff something; it has to be found. I do want some antlers though.
 TC: Do you get a lot of public reactions/comments about your headwear (particularly the latter)?
PL: Little kids usually point and stare. It sort of makes me feel like the Wicked Witch of the West, which is okay. Girls in stores always ask to touch the mouse. It’s odd. I had a friend who was mortified by the taxidermy things and did not like being near me when I wore them. I also frequently get asked if I am part of the entertainment at cocktail bars. Apparently in Brisbane hats = performance artists.
TC: In a perfect world, would you ever leave the house without a hat?
PL: I rarely do leave the house without a hat. I don’t feel finished without something perched on my head.
HATS OFF TO:
 Do You Feel The Scent? Vintage and pin-up inspired hats and fascinators. www.doyoufeelthescent.etsy.com
 Gail Sorronda: Brisbane’s own designer extraordinaire. www.gailsorronda.swappler.com
 Celapiu: Cute contemporary knits. www.celapiu.etsy.com
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