Unexpected Ways to Wrap: Hat Boxes

A few weeks ago I was in the Salt Lake City airport waiting for my luggage to appear on the carousel. After two pet coffins and 14 boxes of dry ice circled the platform, I realized that my bags had probably gotten lost somewhere between Providence and Chicago. But before all this happened, I saw a beautiful hat box round the conveyor belt, and I fell in love.

Ever since, I've been thinking about how great it would be to have a few hat boxes on hand, not only to store things in, but also for wrapping. Let's say you bought your friend a bunch of computer accessories, an assortment of fruits, or a set of bath and body products. Kind of tough to wrap individually, right? A cool, new or vintage hat box solves that problem. Line it with pretty tissue paper, fill it with your gifts and slap a bow on that sucker. You've got yourself a pretty present, AND your friend has an awesome new hat box.

I found the white faux-alligator box above on eBay and at the moment, is at auction for around ten bucks. Not bad for a vintage hat box but of course if you're planning to spend some money on a box, if should probably be for a special friend. This one here on the right is also an ten dollar eBay find. Yellow, old lady flowers? So delightfully tacky. This would wrap a spring scarf or a set of juice cups nicely. I should mention that unless you can find a really, really beautiful hat box that you're willing to pay a bit for, there's no shame in having a sense of humor.

Shopping for a dude? Yet again, this hat box to the left is currently on eBay for--surprise!--ten smackers, and I actually think it comes with two different straw hats. Unfortunately, the white shag carpet is not included. But really, if you're actually giving someone a hat, a hat box seems the obvious choice for presenting it in a cool manner, right? I'm glad you see things my way.

If you're not so keen on buying hat boxes that other people have owned previously, you can always find new ones (for probably just a bit more money). The white hat box below runs for 22 bucks at The Box Shoppe, while the one covered in birds at the right (harking back to my last post), is a bit pricier, running for 99 dollars at Bed Bath and Beyond. How great would the white box look with a beautiful gold ribbon wrapped around it? Filling the bird box with silver tinsel would be a pretty, albeit messy, way to cushion a gift inside.

If none of these are high class enough for you, there are fancier options available. This sleek Louis Vuitton hat box will set you back only about $1,900. Let's be honest. I could never afford this, never mind would I ever use it as WRAPPING for the more extravagant gift inside. On the other hand, if you can afford to buy this for a loved one, I assure you you'll have a very happy girlfriend or wife.