THE DAILY NEWS HAS A THING OR TWO TO SAY ABOUT HATS

Fanciful hats sure to cap the occasion
BY ETHAN SACKS
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Sunday, April 16th, 2006

Irving Berlin could write a sonnet about an Easter bonnet - like he did in the song, "Easter Parade" - but he might have been rendered speechless by the dazzling hats nowadays.

"It's never too much," said Larisa Alexanerovich, a milliner and owner of Larisa's in midtown Manhattan. "Sometimes the customers will ask me to add even more flowers to the hats we sell."

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today, a virtual botanical garden will be on display along Fifth Ave., between 49th and 57th Sts., in the annual Easter Parade.

A New York tradition since the late 19th century, the procession draws hats piled to the wide brims with feathers, flowers, Easter eggs and, in some cases, live animals.

A smaller, more recently established parade takes place today on Flatbush Ave. in Brooklyn.

"I just always like to wear a pretty hat on Easter," said Shirley Luck of Brooklyn.

Tomorrow and Tuesday, even more elaborate bonnets will be on display at Broadway Cares' 20th Annual Easter Bonnet Competition at the New Amsterdam Theatre. Proceeds go to AIDS research.

Many other, tamer models are being modeled today at area churches.

"I look for a hat that's either flattering to my head or extremely unusual," said Jackie McGowan, 46, who wears her prized hat to church services on Easter Sunday.

The Port Washington, L.I., native takes chapeau buying seriously enough to bring along a friend, Randi Goodman, 44, to The Hat Shop on Thompson St. Thursday to see how the headwear looked on a live model.

Lisa Pagan, owner of The Hat Shop, said that Easter is just the start of the milliner's busy season. Hats are in demand for the Kentucky Derby and the Royal Ascot horse races, garden parties and graduations.

"Serious hat wearers wear them all year round," Pagan noted.

Heather Flow, 23, dons an Easter bonnet at The Hat Shop on Thompson St. in Manhattan.