Hats Off to Hats in the Garden

Once again, Collier County society flocked to Naples Botanical Garden, with the women wearing extravagant “fascinators” for the annual Hats in the Garden fundraiser on Friday, March 28. This year marks the 21st year for ‘Hats,’ and while they are still tallying the proceeds, the event is projected to earn well into seven figures.  

In fact, it was announced from the stage during the luncheon that an anonymous donor had made an individual one million-dollar contribution, so the goal for the day, which had been set at $1.5 million, was immediately adjusted to $2.5 mil. Behind the glitz and the finery, the day raised significant funds to help operate Naples’ world-class botanical preserve. 

For the ladies at the lunch, this was an opportunity to attend a glittering social event, get dressed up, rub elbows, and indulge in some guilt-free day drinking, all for a noble cause. Glasses of Champagne or prosecco were available at every hand, and pictures from the day show few without a goblet in hand.  

The crowning glory of each participant, of course, was the hat they wore, although this year, the previous formal contest for the most extravagant topper in various categories was discontinued. Had there been a prize, there is little doubt it would have gone to Heather Dockweiler, wearing a hat appearing something like a galaxy of celestial orbs or perhaps the inner structure of a complex molecule, and designed by Peacock Millinery from Australia.  

Even celebrity emcee Jenna Bush Hager remarked on the hat from the dais as she worked the room. Host of NBC-TV’s “Today with Jenna and Friends” and New York Times number one bestselling author, Hager added some celebrity gloss to the occasion. 

Each of the 700 attendees at the sold-out event received a copy of “I Loved You First,” co-authored by Jenna and her sister, Barbara. The two are the daughters of former president George W. Bush. Unlike nearly every other lady in attendance, Jenna Hager was hatless through the event, including when she went around the room shooting “selfies” – group shots, really – with each tableful of ladies who unanimously agreed to participate in the event’s Fund-a-Need. Proceeds from that were earmarked for Nature Play, a new initiative at Naples Botanical Garden (NBG). In this program, the garden harkens back to the days when children could and did spend time in nature and not peering into the screens of their tech devices.  

“Remember when we played outside until sunset – building forts, climbing trees, and losing ourselves in nature?” asks the page on the NBG website. “Today, children often miss out on these simple joys.” The Nature Play spaces will “encourage kids (and kid-at-heart adults) to romp, climb, explore, and imagine amid the lush world of tropical plants.”  

While the attendees at Hats’ were all supporters of NBG, they didn’t get to tour the “lush world of tropical plants” on this day. Their view of nature was mostly confined to the chrysanthemums, birds of paradise, and other flora atop their neighbors’ heads. Greeting their friends, ladies had to master the “hat kiss,” a peck from a distance where not only don’t the lips brush, but the hats don’t touch and so are not put at risk.  

One noteworthy hat on Friday was the chapeau sported by Cheryl Coleman, with a watering can crafted from silvery gauze plus enormous color-coordinating silk roses perched on high, with a cascade of beads seeming to water the surroundings. This hat, along with 20 or more additional ones, was the work of Marco Island’s Diane Shagott, proprietor of “Hats to Di For.”  

Shagott said she works closely with the wearer of her hats, which cost from $200 to $1,400, matching the colors to the dress and personalizing it to the wearer’s individual taste. Having completed her work on ‘Hats in the Garden,’ she is moving full speed ahead on hats for the Kentucky Derby and has also done hats for the Royal Ascot, she said.  

This year’s ‘Hats’ was chaired by Joan Clifford, privately funded in part by Christine Williamson, inaugural chair of the Garden’s Collector’s Circle, with corporate presenting sponsor William Raveis. After the Champagne reception, during which they were serenaded by the three Sicilian Tenors, the ladies and a few scattered gentlemen lunched on airline chicken augmented by a cheese board – “Joan knows that cheese is my love language,” said Hager – and were treated to a fashion show with Saks Fifth Avenue presenting the Etro Fall 25 collection. The theme for the event was “La Dolce Vita,” or as we say in English, the sweet life.