London Hatwalk Makes for Olympic Levity

Hatwalk  map.

Who says Brits are stodgy? Londoners are having fun during these Olympic games.  First there were the classic  London phonebooths all dressed up for the party, and now London has outdone itself with a project from the Mayor of London's office called Hatwalk.

Twenty one statues of  Britain's important historical figures have new hats this morning, courtesy of some of London's most famous milliners.  If you are close enough to get to London you can take the Hatwalk yourself in realtime. Here's the map.

If, like me, you are an ocean away and tired of the turgid reportage of NBC check out the photos.  Here are a few to whet your appetite with links to galleries  where you can see and read more.

 Churchill and Roosevelt-- my personal fave. image source .

King George IV checks out Lord Nelson in Trafalger Square image source

Queen Victoria's new chapeau  image source

Snazzy Duke of Wellington image source

Beau Brummel would be proud  image source

Somebody stole William Shakespeare's hat  booo) but the rest are intact, which to this ex-New Yorker seems like a miracle.  In any case, please follow the image source links under the photo captions to see more and better photos of all the hats as well as credits to the hatmakers, photographers, and more on history and location. 

  All I can say is hat's off to the London 2012 Hatwalk.