Method behind student’s hat-a-day madness

Daniel Lyth, 23, has been wearing a different hat a day for seven years, and wore several more...
Daniel Lyth, 23, has been wearing a different hat a day for seven years, and wore several more from St Vincent de Paul yesterday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
Fedoras, beanies and even a fruit bowl — there is a barely a style of hat Dunedin student Daniel Lyth has not donned over the past seven years.

Mr Lyth started taking a photo of himself wearing a different hat each day in 2016 and the PhD student reached his 2500th hat this week.

His hair-flattening antics started with a joke between mates and turned into a seven-year celebration of hats.

Each of Mr Lyth’s social media posts features a new hat as well as a brief description of the scene, his day or even an inspirational quote.

Mr Lyth said the detailed record of his life taught him to appreciate each day.

"Being able to look back at a photo log of my life is great.

"I can visualise all my memories I’ve recorded.

"It helps me to remember all the people in my life I’ve met."

"People have messaged me to say how much they appreciate the consistent presence of my hats in their lives."

The hats themselves have been incredibly varied — Google-branded beanies, fruit bowls, plush cheese wedges and even a special 1000th hat made of photos of every other he had worn so far.

Mr Lyth said it had been a fun challenge to source a new hat so frequently and he has relied heavily on local op-shops.

"St Vinny’s on George St is always a great spot for hats.

"I always ask permission of course."

"But since I’ve been tagging places on my Instagram, they’ve been really enthusiastic.

"Just the other day I got a free hat from Void."

In his 2500th Instagram post, he said he cherished those mundane moments, which were made all the better by the people around him.

His favourite hats were the ones given by friends.

Mr Lyth said he would continue his hat regimen to retain his title of "hat man".

 

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