ONLY ON RADAR: Oprah Loves the Color Purple (Hat)

May 27 2009, Published 5:25 a.m. ET

Attending a birthday celebration for her friend Marlene Veloz, Oprah Winfrey arrived wearing a show-stopping hat that can only be described as fashionably unique.

The ladies-only luncheon took place May 23 in Santa Barbara, CA and trivia fans might recognize Marlene as the woman who sold Oprah her $50 million estate there in 2001.

But back to that hat: the style is crushed stove pipe.

And the color purple makes it the clear winner in the crazy chapeaus competition up against Star Jones at the Kentucky Derby and that all-time classic worn by Aretha Franklin at President Barack Obama’s Inauguration.