Bonkers Animal Headgear A-Go-Go

ASOS penguin sequin earmuffs, £9 on sale

There will be a short pause while the enormity of those ear muffs sink in. Are they not amazing?

I only really wear hats in winter - I have a couple of feathery clips I might attach for the purposes of weddings, or nice parties, and I might stick on a nice straw hat on holiday, but otherwise it's all about keeping my ears warm when all my extremities are fighting the cold.

Sian and I narrowly avoided an embarrassing "both wearing dark trilbies at the same time" incident at an event on Monday, but with this selection of hats (ranging from fun to quite frankly ridiculous) we should be able to avoid that every happening again. I've got animals on the brain, because I'm spending today being a zookeeper at London Zoo! I KNOW!

ASOS mixed knit bear beanie, £12

Animal hats loom large this winter, as indeed they do every winter. But 2012 has got bigger, furrier and more like you've just nicked your headgear off a tiny child who will start to cry imminently. Case in point: this adorably bear-or-monkey hat from ASOS (who are doing GREAT mental Christmas jumper and hat work this year, well done ASOS.)

River Island black animal face faux fur Hat, £18

This looks like you could end up with Totoro on your head. A strong look, but clearly very, very flammable.

Topshop owl pom-pom hat by Miss Pom, £20

The passion for owls continues apace with Miss Pom's little hat for Topshop - the pink and blue makes the owls look a bit ill, but the size of that pom pom is excellent. And if you already have an owl hat, make your own pom pom to sew on top.

Dorothy Perkins badger beanie, £12

Badgers! I die! How cute is this?

Accessorize foxy pull-on, £17

Dottie P does a fox hat too, very similar to the badger hat, but this fox hat from Accessorize is too adorable not to feature in the fox category. Amazing.