We will find you a new hat, Joan. A nice Easter hat!

Yes! *claps hands with broad smile* An Easter bonnet!

PAST time Pumpkin. Gray is simply not a color for a gal
about to be married!

I think whatever your new look, it should include very large emeralds.

Since Freaky is your spouse to be, Freaky must really be consulted. Freaky is to hair what All-Clad is to pots and pans.

My personal opinion is leading to an afro. No hat except for church (if you go) or the Kentucky Derby.

You and Freaky should work on color coordination as well. Pink and... green (that would be nice, maybe to preppy?)

Thanks, Delia, Lainey, Dakini -- and Cat, I LOVE emeralds, although my birthstone is sapphire, so either one.

But y'all know I prefer love to jewels, so it's not about the jewel-studded tiara that Lonnie -- oh, not Lonnie, someone else! -- might design for me, it's really about, well, it's time. To everything, there is a season, etc.

What is Aretha wearing this season???

Ablonde, that's very insightful. I am black Irish, as my father told me when I was 4, and my hair stylist is African-American, and he is always trying to bring out the "curl" in my hair. I could have grown an Afro in my teens; I'm not sure now, but I could try.

I will discuss with Freaky; her hair product alone might make mine stand up more proudly.

She's been experimenting with citrus colors - lots of tangerine and lime.

Now you may not want to be so quick to lose the grey. I hear it's the new black. Or would it be the new white, which was the new black last season? Oh, who knows. I'm sure you'll look marvelous no matter what you decide---and no matter what you wear, you'll still be able to kick Dick Armey's butt on Hardball.

I'm personally all for the corset with perhaps a box hat with the netting that falls over one eye. Or am I projecting my next convention outfit on you?

Maybe a hat like Philip Seymour Hoffman wore at the Oscars! And a little SF scenery in the background. An I Love Alcatraz t-shirt.

Joan, I will advocate for a Shepherd Fairey-esque rendering, so long as you can refrain from suing him (or him suing you) over the original photo rights.

Show us the dagger with which you eviscerate the unsuspecting troglodyte.

If you go back to the original photo we will have something to start with shopping for new hats, via photoshop.

I address, and I think, SOLVE, the hat problem on my blog. Thank you. Thank you very much.

I never took you for a bowhead, Joan. But I'm not sure hat wearing is for you, in any event. But if you feel you simply must put something on your head, a fedora would look good on you.

My dear Mme Walsh ~ perhaps something which bares the shoulders? With the presidential celebrations now past, we remove our fancy hats and roll up our shirtsleeves!

Black Irish conjures up green with St. Patty's day just around the bend. Might I suggest a derby and shamrock accompanied but some Zulu attire? Maybe in a color that would compliment an angelic soul. Freaky's soul, that is.

May I suggest something like this?

We Cheshire cats cannot wear such a thing, of course (we keep disappearing!), but see if it does not strike your cat fancy.

[On a personal note, I feel compelled to tell you that, yes, I have starred with Freaky in cross-species dry-humping videos. And, yes, we naturally put them on Facebook. Oh the shame!]

I have reconsidered after viewing DeliaBlack's post on hats for Joan. (Check it out. It's very funny!)

I'm now in favor of a Carmen Miranda fruitbowl hat with a colorful silky headband wrap complete with coochee-coochee halter sundress. Don't forget the big fruity earrings to finish the ensemble. A blaze of color to match your outstanding personality. I'm sure that Freaky would highly approve if not be a bit jealousie.

I give you the words of Randy Newman:

"And you can leave your hat on"

Joan, I have you covered! Change Your Hat? ABSOLUTELY

If Leibovitz isn't going to do your next photo (naked of course), then I agree with "verbalremedy"'s concept of Shepard Fairey.. Of course Madam Walsh, your smile warms the world, so hat or not hat would be still be lovely.. of course that hat was sooo timely! Your humor still tickles me.

I also love the graphic design that was used previously(?).. very stylish. I'm a firm believer in a true "image" of the author, even as iconic rendering (e.g. creative altering, rather than just an symbol, which I feel many hide behind).

So,.. if you're lovely enough for gray, then sure..!, knock their socks off next with red or hot pink.

PS: As for hair, your skin tone suggests henna highlights and a light body wave... oh yeah...!

Joan: Hat or no hat, a new pic where we can see more hair would be a good thing. I have great jewelry to go with whatever new style you pick. I'm local and design and create my own. See at designsbycolleen.etsy.com .
BTW, love you on MSNBC, love what you have to say.
That's what led me here and to start my blog.

I think a large-brimmed hat would suit you, Joan.

Joan, I think it would be alluring if you maybe just showed us one eye, like Kerry, and perhaps winked with the other.

Ack! The horns of your dilemma pierce my very soul. (It sounds like drowning a bath toy.)

On the one hand, Arethamania is always in style. On the other... Perhaps it's time to claim your place as a hat celebrity in your own right.

For days, I'm thinkin' Lady Di in subdued Wedgewood blue and wasabi with a short peach veil. Pearls. You know... Ironically virginal with that certain air that says, "Of course I'm not fooling anyone but should you remark it, I'll humiliate you in print."

Then for midnight assignations, switch to a dramatic black number with sinister jet beads, feathers from an extinct carnivore, and a chin-length veil. Diamonds. Profoundly enigmatic eye makeup, lips in edible red, and discretely lethal nails. Bedazzle an Hermes logo on a taser and claim it's your handbag. (Use it on anyone who penetrates your disguise.) Being a woman of mystery means this hat will not officially exist. We'll acquire it for you in Paris and ship it, return address marked "Johannesburg Zoo, Department of Toxicology." Keep it in the armoire with the radiation trefoil.

Since I assume you have to wear a combat helmet during your work day, you're entitled to some fun, no?

A hat like that never goes out of style.

Joan, I really think this deserves an official OS Open Call on the front page (right hand column) this week as words alone often aren't enough and we need visuals to go along with the ideas expressed here.

I think another hat is definitely a stellar idea. Easter bonnets are in and everything old is new again! Make it your tradition...a revolving gallery of exquisite hats.

Persimmon is a lovely, bright color...lots of lovely shades in the red spectrum. Go for it!

I say it's time to give Aretha back her hat. Maybe you could change your photo's backdrop to the stock values graph showing the Bush years and Obama months from Rob St. Amant's latest post...

Joan, you have the perfect face for any hat. With Spring in the air (we hope), here is a hat that would be ideal for you. It is hand crocheted from harvested fields in Madagascar and it's an eco friendly hat. The rolled, lace crocheted 4” brim is very elegant and looks good on virtually all face shapes. This hat is extremely practical and can be warn for anything from a chic garden party to a casual walk through Nob Hill.

I will email a picture for your consideration.

Rated for style

Joan, O Joan
Your splendid head needs a hat,
my magic eightball says,
like cucumbers need pompadours,
like a melon needs a fez.
Joan, O Joan
Please, O please leave the hats
to those sordid freaks of the stage
Miranda, Lugosi,
Elton, Madea,
Frank and Reid and Pelosi!

I can really relate to this. In my program, we are videotaped to evaluate our counseling techniques and I kept thinking "I really need to do something with my hair". It was a real distraction.
Since you are a public person who appears on TV, this is not a frivilous thing. I always notice what Gwen Ifil is wearing and watched as Daljit Daliwa struggled with the part in her hair. Men? Suit, tie, hair combed, teeth brushed. Maybe you could have your colors "done"?
Time to update! Comes to us all as women.
(Altho, I loved the hat and Lonnie is a sweetie.)

Now I'm thinking dread locks and beaded extensions.

I like the tiara idea. Or as Marilyn Monroe said in How to Marry a Millionaire, "I just loving finding new ways to wear diamonds!"

Would the Blago hair be out dated?

Perhaps a balding Rush Limbaugh hair do?

You're far too pretty for any of that. Just plain, elegan Joan will do for me.

Why hide a good brain with a hat? You don't need one.

I think you need to show some arm, Joan. Arms are in.

I vote for fro! I've always wished I could go fro.

No disrespect to "From The Midwest" but like your tongue and cleavage, I don't know if it's proper to have a pic that exposes your brain. Also, sorry I stole Dick Armey.

Hat is up to you. Facebook is wonderful if you do it right.

Yep, reverse it "Gangster Style" and cop some attitude.
Cheers!

Shouldn't you be checking with your inamorata? She might Freakin' freak out if you change ....

Oh yes, a new picture and an Easter Bonnet, with posies on it.

I kind of like the Church look, as OS is a form of religion for many of us.

My advisement is this: Go where your heart leads, provided it leads you in the right direction :).

I agree that Easter is coming. It's probably time to change that hat up. What would Freaky wear? hmm.

Joan, I would have suggested the V just for kicks, but my husband and I took numerous pictures of me last night with the wild hair and the V...you know...a new avitar look to go along with my most controversial post ever (OMG)...but it just wasn't working. I think it's an age-related thing. So, you could do the obvious spring hat...this could be very fun...but whatever you do...throw some color in there! I think you would look fahbulous in RED. For sure, dump the gray anything. You've got style...now show it.

How about a profile shot, no hat for a while, and a red top, blouse or sweater. I se you in red, looking good! Red says strong, powerful, passionate, creative, alive! It says, you!

Joan, I'm thinking of something like a mantilla, ya know, those veil-like lacy things the ladies used to wear to mass. And I think Cat's color suggestions are perfect or maybe the mantilla could match Freaky's hair! Wadd'ya, wadd'ya, wadd'ya think?
rated for haute couture

Or a green derby hat for St. Patrick's day.

Hats are ALWAYS appropriate! It's almost planting time here in the heartland...perhaps a seed company "gimme" hat would give you that comfy, country, relaxed feeling for a while!

I vote for a new hat but do a big hat. Big hats are always in.

Then again you could do a Michelle Obama look... no sleeves.

I'm enjoying all the fanciful comments, but since you're a "media personality," you have to be taken seriously. I go for a classic,
Grace Kelly look-- crisp feminine blouse, tasteful earrings and necklace, maybe a petite fleur behind your ear? Do get rid of the grey. It's too frumpy for your personality.

I think cowgirl hats make any woman look hot. But, then I'm from cowboy country in the West.

No, I do not like your hat.

I do not like it on a train.
I do not like it in the rain.

I do not like it in the car; I do not like it near or far.
I do not like it with a feather; I do not like it in bad weather.

But, wait!

I DO like it on your head; I DO like it 'neath your bed.
I like your hat when it’s on you; I like it though it isn't blue.

You wear it well, with grace and style.
And best of all, when 'ere you smile.

Though it is clothes which make the man,
its YOU who wears hats with élan!

You flatter all the clothes you wear with style that shows certain flair!

I like you in your purple hat.
I like you even without that.

Yes! A cunning pastel concoction that will carry you through March! But nothing so bright that it will attract insects.

That happened to me with a yellow "Up With People" pantsuit back in the 70's.

These little bugs kept attacking me, like I was giant flower genitalia.

Find yourself a really great vintage hat - that would be "green " choice and there is something to be said about changing things up a bit with the rotation of the seasons - so symbolic - everything is cyclical, what goes round comes round etc.

I fear that if you go hatless, you will have done for womens' habadashery what JFK did for mens'.

Frankly, I was pretty amazed (and honored) you kept the Aretha hat going as long as you have Joan. It was a labor of Love. But now, basta!

As for suggestions, assuming you want to stay with a hat theme, it is Spring Training...

Although, by the time summer rolls around, of course, we'll all expect to see you in your tube top.

Definitely time for a new look. Perhaps this red hat for Women's Heart Health, plus a good color for you to Make Them See Red!

Or, you could go back to Aretha's original look, not an Afro, more girly and showing a hint of skin. Ah, this one for Facebook?

Oh, this is IT: Freaky's Bride.

I second the Easter Bonnet suggestion. I saw a version of Aretha's hat available from some SF hat store being advertised in our local paper (The Montclarion) some weeks ago but can't recall the name (although I think it's Miss Somebody's or at least has a woman's name in it). I bet they could fix you up bee-yoo-tee-fully.

Joan, I think that we *you and I* should both go up to upstate NY, *I have family we can crash at with out the hotel fees* and have Persephone make us matching yellow flame velvet corsette!!! then I can put fun colored highlights in your hair. we dont wanna cover those up with a hat, you pick the color and I will put them in. Im thinking of doing purple this time with mine now that I have the new cut it wont take as long and I wont use as much dye everytime i do it.. what do you think?

How about something completely new and different: a tiara? You love emeralds, and an emerald tiara sprinkled with other stones to form a vision of spring flowers would be just the thing for the queen of OS as we welcome longer days on Sunday.

Please change your hat so I can get on with my life. ;)

The local taxidermist has a Sign:`I buy dear horns. Pork?
Wear a buck's deer antler horn-hat, a porky pie bat, a llama?
A soft fedora? a magic rabbit hat? a zippy cone pointed ball cap?
The pumpkin head hat. You wear the whole hollowed orange fruit.
Look scary as a politician on teevee? Wear a honeybee bonnet? huh.
Freaky Troll would look terrific in a Bumble Bee Easter Egg Bonnet.

Personally, I have always loved that particular photo of you.
Perhaps loosing the hat is not a bad idea.......for a short time at least.

How about: Only wear the hat in cyberspace when you have a triumph of some kind in your professional life.......It would be an appropriate good luck ritual!!..........

Just Read Lonnie's comment...........umm,.....maybe a CUBS hat?

Hey Joan,

Congrats on your DeLay/Limbaugh column. You really hit one out of the ballpark today!

ps--Yes, I'd say change the hat sooner than later! ;)

I'd love to see a new hat--spring-like to lift our spirits.

When I was a kid, the arrival of spring meant that it was time to help my mother take her spring hats down from the top of the closets. It always got me excited about the new season and the end of winter.
New hats mean renewal - go for it!

Oh I like the hat. Its very dame and a touch regal. I think it should be the OS logo. It seems to represent more than just the hat, for me. It stands for OS (since you've been wearing it since I began.)

I think, instead of you changing hats, we should all ADD hats to our avatar.

(Though you doing the "V" would be riotously funny. Pretty please.)

I keep seeing the word asshat on this site and I have never seen it anywhere else. Does it describe where it is worn or what it is made from? Do you have one? I mean that kind of hat.

Panama hat, stoogie and a Bogart accent. I'd vote for that.

Stella said "The Queen and the Queen mother have some great hats." Stellaa, I am not sure how to tell you this. It may seem very regal for our Joan, but the Queen Mother does not wear many hats these days. In fact, I dont think she has been seen in any since she died. (just kidding)

Joan, as you have the same name as my wife, I might be tempted to suggest something, but I learnt a long time ago that one has to be very careful when referring to anything worn by a lady.

If Joan did the "V" I think half of the Republican Pundits might explode.

Lea Lane said "Joan, I think it would be alluring if you maybe just showed us one eye, like Kerry, and perhaps winked with the other."

maybe, but if we only see one eye like Kerry. how do we know the other one is winking ??????

I concur--you need a nice new Easter bonnet. Although I really think Aretha's chapeau is quite stylish on you.

George III used to wear a birdcage on his head, Joan. That would be an eye catcher.

Oh yes, new hat. Might I suggest a lovely emerald green top hat with a large gold buckle?

If I had the photoshop skills to put your face on the Statue of Liberty (maybe seated at a cafe table, torch aloft, checking her iPhone for OS messages) that's what I'd do.

What Sandra said!

But with pink hair.

I vote for no hat - new photo. I'm thinking something in that red suit you always looked so fabulous in. As for the look of the shot - we're going old school 80's. Head turned ever so slightly to the side, fist planted underneath the chin - elbow resting on nothing but air. Soft focus on the lens. Maybe even that double shot. Like Colbert's fireplace painting. A picture of you with a picture of you...

The hat overwhelms, but that can be okay. Keep whatever picture up that makes you feel good. Hey look, that's me!--Ain't I swell!

I don't think you need a hat at all. Your writing makes all the statement you need. Intelligence, humor, the ability to analyze, kindness and on and . . . these require no adornment.

I'm working on it! I'm working on it!

But you can see the Aretha hat from space!

Can I put forward the dissonant opinion. KEEP THE HAT, for 48 to 96 months. Pleeease?

If only to R-E-S-P-E-C-T the significance of Jan. 20?

The grey is a bit austere. Break out your Spring colors. Do anything to your hair you want to except cut it :-)

yes, change your hat :)

if it is only about the 'hat' that is

Can some one help me out here? Whats the significance of 20th January? Is it related to some thing in America? Please excuse the ignorance of some one from Scotland.

Randy said "If only to R-E-S-P-E-C-T the significance of Jan. 20?"

I don't know where to begin to answer! It was nice getting to know new folks in this thread, like Student Pundit, that made me giggle. I love all of Freaky's choices, but the tiara just seems a bit much, at least before the wedding. Newcomers might think I'm full of myself. I'll look for an Easter Bonnet. But maybe something green for St. Patrick's Day, before that, bobbot, thanks for reminding me.

For jonmagee, Aretha sang My Country 'Tis of Thee on Jan. 20, at Barack Obama's inauguration.

Joan, thanks for the explanation.

Beret. Since the country is run by left-wing, socialist, Marxist, wealth-distributing surrender-monkeys, we must be French, too, n'est pas?

The hat stays in the picture.

There is a pretty nifty little hat store on Telegraph in Berkezerley...
have you looked there? Or perused Etsy.com? Or gone in search of a beautiful retro hat on eBay? Oh the possibilites are endless!

You´re nuts if you change your image...
What´ll happen if you do and everybody recognizes you , eh ??

On second thought... I might like it... Not the idea but the results.... go bare !!
No hat, no nail polish, no ear bangles, no eye gloss and certainly no teeth whiteners that sprankle my eyes blind and absolutely no footwear of any kind or bikini strings.... just go as you came.. w/o that corset..... Donah.. (Show ´em my headshot... I won´t duck !!)

haha Joan! You definitely don't need a new hat. I know that I do enjoy going to the beauty shop every now and then and updating my look a little bit. If you are feeling dated, this is the best way to solve it. The only time I wear a hate is when I am out near my purple martin house and the birds don't care what it looks like, they'll drop the unthinkable on it anyhow!