When dressing up for certain events, a hat can make or break the look. This fashion forward advice was also taken to heart by certain whales in the 1980s, and they may have brought back the vintage look.

A member of one of the Southern Resident orca pods, an endangered group found around Washington and British Columbia, was spotted wearing a salmon hat in October in the Puget Sound. (We'll see if any Kentucky Derby attendees get inspiration from this next year.)

The whalespotter took a photo and shared it with the Orca Network, which tracks the activity of the Southern Resident orcas. Longtime followers of the J, K, and L pods may remember that each of them had a whale sporting the fishy fashion accessory in 1987. One female was the first to be seen with the salmon on her head for much of the year, and then two other whales followed suit.

Since then, either the trend stopped, or it went underground.

Scientists don’t really know why the whales did this to begin with… or why they may have started up again. The photo may have been taken at an opportune moment during a hunt, or it could be a sign of an abundance of food and stashing away a snack for later. (Hey, humans wear candy necklaces sometimes. Wearing your food is hardly something we can judge.)

If it is due to an abundance of food, that’s good news, as one of the biggest threats to these orcas is an increasing loss of prey, which is primarily Chinook salmon. Other threats include pollution and disturbance from vessels and noise. The Southern Residents’ population was 74 in July 2021, and they’ve had low birth rates in recent years.

There is another, slightly more fun, theory for the hat, though.

Andrew Trites, director of University of British Columbia’s Marine Mammal Research Unit, told the CBC, "It's probably being done by young animals and is probably something others may catch on and do because they're very good at mimicking … in the same way that young kids can pick up tricks from others, sometimes to the disapproval of their parents."

Others have surmised it could be a form of communication for the social animals. It could even be nostalgia. Female orcas can live up to 90 years in the wild, so it’s likely that some members of the pod may have been around for the fashion crazes of the 80s.

Whatever the cause, we hope they end up in the next Best Dressed List.