Who needs a pool?

Swimming hats are the latest fashion trend. But are they just too ridiculous to wear?It is early afternoon and I am standing in my kitchen, on the phone to Sarah, the Guardian photographer. My cat eyes me suspiciously. This is because I am wearing an elaborate floral swimming hat. It is not something that I usually wear. I am explaining to Sarah that I have been commanded to wear the swimming hat for a day as a sort of experiment, an early foray into next autumn's fashion, and that she will be required to photograph me as I go about my daily business near my home in east London."The problem," says Sarah, "is that in your neighbourhood no one would bat an eyelid if you wore a swimming hat." I consider this for a moment. She is possibly right. In my neighbourhood, they've probably been

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