Aretha Franklin Is Not Sure if She Can Bear to Give ‘the Hat' to the Smithsonian

Can't you just see it?

Admit it — you're one of the 85,554 fans of Aretha Franklin's Inauguration Day hat on Facebook. We are, and we're proud. We just received one of the best press releases ever, informing us that, thanks to the outpouring of Hat fascination and press (People! The Tonight Show! WWD!), the Smithsonian has requested the "now iconic" Hat to display in the museum alongside Michelle Obama's Isabel Toledo and Jason Wu ensembles. But Aretha doesn't know if she's ready to relinquish the Hat and go it alone. She says:

“I am considering it. It would be hard to part with my chapeau since it was such a crowning moment in history. I would like to smile every time I look back at it and remember what a great moment it was in American and African-American history. Ten cheers for President Obama.”

Okay, question: Should we start calling it the Chapeau instead of the Hat? Or have we gone too far to turn back? More from the Best Press Release Ever:

On the Internet, people have created dozens of sites devoted to the hat and, using software, it has been placed on mug shots of Dick Cheney, dogs, President George Washington and the heads of Mt. Rushmore , among many others.

The Hat's website is here. In case you haven't seen these sublime images of Cheney and dogs Photoshopped into the Hat, we found a whole page of Hat Photoshoppings, including cats in the Hat. What a Friday.

Earlier: So What Was UP With Aretha Franklin’s Hat?

Read more posts by Amy Odell

Filed Under: aretha franklin, mad hatter, the hat, the smithsonian

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