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Adult Bonnets Are The Winter Hat of the Moment

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Adult Bonnets Are The Winter Hat of the Moment

Each winter, it’s often the case that a specific cold-weather accessory — a rainbow-check scarf, for example — comes to define the season. This year that item appears to be a knit hat that could be described as a baby bonnet for adults. It also evokes a balaclava, leading some sellers to christen it the “balabonnet.”

The accessory, which has been embraced by a certain set of fashionable women, comes in various interpretations that range from girlie to monastic. Many styles can be tied under the chin to create a streamlined egg shape, and some have longer straps that can be wrapped around the neck like a scarf for a fully snooded look.

There are bonnets embellished with sterling-silver rings, like the version by Gemsun, a brand in New York City. Mimi Wade, a label in Los Angeles, makes a cutesy style with pointed cat ears. The hats are also sold at mall chains like Free People and Hot Topic; the latter offers a bonnet covered in tiny pink bows.

A $210 version by Pien Studios, a four-year-old label in Amsterdam, has emerged as one of the most covetable. The fuzzy hat, which the brand calls a balaclava, is made of a blend of mohair, merino wool and silk and has skinny, scarflike ties. Produced in a handful of colors, it is sold at trendy boutiques across the world, including Amomento in Seoul, Esmeralda Serviced Department in Tokyo and Carmen in Amsterdam.

Grace Hwang, an advertising creative director in Brooklyn, bought a Pien Studios hat last year at Tangerine, a multibrand store in Williamsburg. Ms. Hwang, 33, said she had noticed women in New York City wearing bonnets of various designs, and called her Pien Studios version the most versatile winter accessory that she owns. (She prefers to call it a hat-scarf, not a bonnet.)

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The Pien Studios hat has an ovular shape that Pien Barendregt, the label’s founder, said was inspired by those of space-age-style hats from the 1960s. Ms. Barendregt, 30, added that she aimed for a silhouette that looked feminine compared with bulkier winter gear. “It looks really elegant if you have a super big coat; it balances it nicely,” she said.

While the label calls its hat a balaclava, Ms. Barendregt agreed it was more of a bonnet and said she had received requests to make children’s versions. When she introduced the style two and a half years ago, many women described it as nostalgic, she said, adding that bonnets are practical accessories for the cold, damp winters in Amsterdam, where she lives, because they envelop the head like a hood.

Ms. Barendregt used to knit each hat herself, she said, but she recently outsourced their production in order to fulfill the hundreds of orders she has received this winter.

Lau Frías, 30, bought a white Pien Studios hat at Bomi, a boutique in Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood, in October. “It feels like an elevated version of the many bonnets out there,” said Ms. Frías, who works in music and lives in Brooklyn. She sees the growing interest in the accessory as indicative of women not dressing to be noticed by men, but instead “thinking about looking cute for the female gaze,” she said.

While a wide selection of bonnets is available in stores, people are also knitting their own. Several patternmakers have released D.I.Y. templates, including PetiteKnit, a Danish company popular with younger knitters, which sells the pattern for its Sophie Hood — a bonnet-scarf hybrid — for 35 Danish kroner, or about $5. An Instagram video showing a finished version of the hat has been viewed more than 16 million times since being posted in late December.

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The PetiteKnit founder, Mette Okkels, 35, said the hood was designed to be a little slouchy because she thinks tightfitting bonnets look too similar to versions for babies. “I don’t feel ready for that,” she said.

Recently, at the weekly knitting events hosted by Knit Club, a yarn store in Providence, R.I., a majority of the attendees have arrived wearing bonnets of their own creation, said Lindsay Degen, the store’s owner.

“And it’s not always same people every time,” added Ms. Degen, who is also a knitwear designer. “It’s a massive thing.”


The ethics behind our shopping reporting. When Times reporters write about products, they never accept merchandise, money or favors from the brands. We do not earn a commission on purchases made from this article.


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Trump’s name must come off of the Kennedy Center, judge rules

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Trump’s name must come off of the Kennedy Center, judge rules

Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP

A federal judge has blocked President Trump from adding his name to the Kennedy Center, saying that the Washington, D.C. arts complex was named for the late president John F. Kennedy. In a ruling on Friday, the judge also temporarily blocked the administration from closing the Kennedy Center for a planned two-year renovation that was slated to begin in July.

U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Cooper wrote in his ruling that: “The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so. Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”

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A Kennedy Center spokesperson told NPR in an email Friday afternoon that it will appeal the decision. Roma Daravi, vice president of public relations for the complex, wrote: “We will review the decision carefully though the reality remains — the Center requires an urgent and significant restoration – a truth that even the plaintiff acknowledges. With $257 million secured by President Trump and approved by Congress, the resources are in place and we remain committed to pursuing every lawful avenue to ensure the Trump Kennedy Center is restored as a national cultural landmark for all Americans to enjoy.”

NPR has requested comment from the White House, but did not receive an immediate reply.

As part of his ruling, Judge Cooper ordered that all signage and online materials referring to the “Donald J. Trump and John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts,” the “Trump Kennedy Center,” or anything similar must be removed within 14 days.

The judge also blocked, for now, plans to close the Kennedy Center for two years of renovations. Trump and the center’s current voting board members – all of whom were selected by the president, who also became chairman of the center last year – had planned to start the renovations in early July, just after the 250th anniversary celebrations. In his 94-page ruling, Judge Cooper called the renovation plans “murky,” and wrote: “None of the board members had sufficient information in advance of the March 16 meeting to make a well-considered decision to close the center.” The center has been winding down its programming and has already dismissed most of its programming staff.

Referring to a Truth Social post written by President Trump in February, the judge also wrote: “There was no ‘one year review of the Trump Kennedy Center, that has taken place with Contractors, Musical Experts, Art Institutions, and other Advisors and Consultants, deciding between’ complete and partial closure, as President Trump claimed.”

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Cooper’s ruling resulted from a lawsuit filed in March by Rep. Joyce Beatty of Ohio, an ex-officio member of the Kennedy Center board whose voting rights there were stripped last year.

The ruling does not prevent the Kennedy Center’s board from a future closure, but the judge said that it should do so only after the board has “sufficient information to make a considered, independent decision, taking account of its obligation to both maintain and operate a premiere arts venue and its solemn duty to memorialize a fallen President.”

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L.A. Affairs: I went on 53 first dates in one summer. Here’s a look at my spreadsheet

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L.A. Affairs: I went on 53 first dates in one summer. Here’s a look at my spreadsheet

Three years after my second divorce, with the help of a dating app, I went on 53 first dates in one summer. Fifty-three times, I put on my first-date uniform (nice but not trying too hard), flat-ironed my hair and texted my date itinerary to my friend Karen to make it easier for the FBI to track my whereabouts just in case this was the internet date that finally went wrong.

I had a system. The system involved a spreadsheet. I kept track of what I wore and what stories we shared to avoid repeating myself in case there was a second or third date. There were exploratory follow-up dates, but it usually only took one to know.

The coffees and lunches and dinners of that season flicker in my mind like a rom-com video montage. There were some average dates, plenty of nice-guy, zero-chemistry dates, but a few stand out.

Here are the notables.

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There was the extremely tall, minor league baseball player I met at BJ’s in Burbank. He said no more than four words to me the entire meal, but managed to chat up our waitress. I believe he walked me to my car and went back for her number.

The quiet and irritable TV editor I met at Guelaguetza on Olympic Boulevard. We ordered the chicken mole and chapulines. During the meal, he had a panic attack and excused himself to call his therapist. He actually told me this.

The experimental-video director with the white faux hawk I met at Go Get Em Tiger in East Hollywood. He spent the date in an hourlong monologue about his ex-wife Julia, stopping only to show me many, many photos of Julia.

A young man, originally from Phoenix, asked to meet at Soot Bull Jip on 8th Street. A struggling writer-actor-production assistant, he confided that he had looked up my name on Internet Movie Database and noticed that I was a producer. He then proceeded to pitch me an animated children’s show about singing giraffes. He also asked for a ride to Vons. I declined both.

The screenwriter I met at République who, based on his startling non-resemblance to his photo, had obviously posted a picture of someone else on his profile. He brought me three mixed CDs of music based on what he “knew” I would like. It was all Radiohead and Elliott Smith. I adjusted my dating profile because I was apparently coming off as depressed.

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There was the nervous and uptight English tutor, with a script in turn-around and a famous roommate, that I met at a Starbucks in Koreatown. This guy corrected my grammar within the first five minutes of our introduction. Then, he proceeded to inform me that rather than be put off by this, I should be grateful for the new information so I could fix my error and not appear to be uneducated.

The trendy, bearded sports photographer I met for a late-night dinner at Fred 62 in Los Feliz. I had high hopes for this guy, and we made plans for a second date. But then things started unraveling once we realized I had already dated his younger brother.

There was also the suave (Hand kiss? Really?) and extremely tan French tennis pro I crossed La Cienega Boulevard for and met for lunch at Thai Vegan in Santa Monica. He was on a nonstop series of calls on his cellphone during the entire meal and then asked for a second date. I said, “Non, merci.

When describing these guys to Karen, I used their identifying traits to label them. (Stalker Creep. Dude Looks Like a Lady. Mom Jeans Guy.) Like an FNG in Vietnam, it was better not to learn their names.

Due to a story he had shared with me via email, date No. 53 was identified as Naked Drummer. I tried to reserve judgment. Before Naked Drummer came to meet me for our first date, he called at the last minute and said the following:

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“I want to recap. I just turned 30. I am currently living with my mother. I play guitar in an alternative folk band. I have a semi-crappy temp job at Disney with no benefits. I drive a green ’97 Plymouth Grand Voyager minivan that smells like weed. If you would like to change your mind about this whole dinner thing, now is your chance.” He described himself as tall, dark and tall.

For some reason, I broke many of my first date “safety rules” with Naked Drummer. I gave him my address. I let him pick me up. When he came to get me, I let him into my apartment. We went for dinner at Noshi Sushi on Beverly Boulevard. None of that is prudent behavior, and I do not recommend any of it except the chu toro.

Naked Drummer was a funny, smart, nice Jewish boy who had been touring in bands in that Grand Voyager since college graduation. On the first date, we bonded over takuwan rolls and our histories as teenage goths. My goth uniform included black Maybelline eyeliner I used a lighter to heat the tip with before application. His goth uniform included an olive-green trench coat he borrowed from his mom. We were a match made in Joy Division heaven. He confided he was an Insane Clown Posse Juggalo, I intimated I was in the Kiss Army. (We were both lying about those last two.)

Reader, I married him.

The author is a former writer, director and producer for television. She and Mr. Rosenberg live in South Pasadena. She’s on Instagram: @smacksy.

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L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@latimes.com. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.

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Poppy Liu wants to remind you how revolutionary I Love Boosters is : Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

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Poppy Liu wants to remind you how revolutionary I Love Boosters is : Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

I Love Boosters starts like a fun heist movie. There’s a gang of cool ladies from the Bay Area who steal clothes from high-end designers and sell them at a steep discount to their friends and neighbors. But I Love Boosters is also a Boots Riley movie. The film is surreal and bombastic, branching out in a thousand directions and traversing a dozen genres. So it can’t really stay a heist movie.

Poppy Liu drives that change more than pretty much any other character in the film. She plays Jianhu, a garment worker in China who joins the gang and brings with her a bonkers new wrinkle to the story. It’s a role Poppy was made for. She’s made her career playing confident, somewhat unhinged weirdos. She was cast in a lead role in the 2019 sitcom Sunnyside, had other parts on Better Call Saul, The After Party, and Hacks.

Liu joins us to talk about starring in I Love Boosters and the message that she hopes audiences take away from the film. She also chats with us about her upbringing in Minnesota, how she got into comedy acting, her role on Hacks, and much more.

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