The original Criterion commentary by Russell and Carpenter is pretty great and, yes, they comment on the hat. The commentary was on the original "special edition" DVD from Universal, but I have no idea if it has been passed along to successive versions.
My favorite John Carpenter movie! I remember thinking that hat was pretty cool when I was a kid, on a semi related note: Has anyone heard John Carpenter's new album?
Screw the hat, I want those sunglasses! Always have.
I remember seeing this movie when I was a kid and those shades defined what cool shades were for me.
A few years back I tried using the power of the Internet to track some down, but turns out they're discontinued, rare and I'd have to drop a few hundred for a pair on eBay.