I know almost nothing about

the art of the milliner. I do not own those sort of hats. I have an ancient "straw" hat which I wear in the sun - if I am not wearing my bicycle helmet.
The bicycle helmet is compulsory if you are using pedal power. It has a covering with a peak and a flap, somewhat akin to those once worn by the "Foreign Legion". I have been through several of these coverings.
The first one came with the helmet. Then the bike shop said they were no longer available. I bought the second one from the Cancer Council shop. It was in Italian racing colours. I was fond of that one. Like the first one, it eventually disintegrated in the sun.
I knitted the third one because the Cancer Council said they were "unavailable". I bought two balls of cotton from the local "untidy" shop. They were in the "bargain bin" and cost me about a dollar each. I had a bit of trouble working out the shape but it fitted well enough - and even received some compliments. I could, like the others, wash it at regular intervals. Eventually it began to look rather worn.
Last year my nephews gave me a new helmet cover as a Christmas present. The Cancer Council had decided to stock them in their shop again. This time it is a dull grey colour but I'll put up with that. I prefer to keep out of the sun as much as I can.
I have made other hats and beanies and caps. They have all been passed on to other people with the exception of the woolly beanie I wore when there was snow on the ground. That was passed on to another needy student when I left university.
I am making another beanie type head covering at present. It is pale pink. I am not fond of pink. It is a colour I never wear. Fortunately I do not need to wear it this time either. It is not for me. It is a peculiar thing anyway. It is a skull shape. It will have wiggling lines all over it. It is intended to represent a brain. I know the person I am making it for will never wear it either. We have both agreed it is much too peculiar to be worn but she will be able to use it in other ways.
There is a woman who comes to the knitting group at the library. She makes a great many beanies. She lives in a short, dead-end street. Every person in the street has been given one of her beanies. They apparently wear them. There was a communal barbecue the other night and apparently everyone was wearing one of her beanies. She does them in every imaginable colour and style. She tries out new techniques on them.
There is also "Beanie Festival" in Alice Springs each year. I know people who sell their beanies there. I have seen pictures of the beanie displays. They range from the ultra conservative plain colour and plainly knitted to the wildly fantastic decorated with bobbles, beads and branches of I-cord (French knitting) in multiple colours.  People flock there and buy beanies. Do they wear them? I  suppose they must.
I see very few people wearing head coverings apart from boys with those caps they wear backwards. Perhaps I just don't go to places where people wear beanies or hats or caps.
I really do wonder at all this beanie, cap and hat knitting. They are quick to make and can be fun - but do people really wear them?