My Hat Collection

In the wintertime I love to wear beautiful wool fedoras, it makes you look more put together and stylish. A hat is a great styling secret every woman should embrace. You can throw it on with a very simple look and it will elevate your look. I think hats are essential since they look so chic. Hats can add height to your frame when you don't want to wear heels. It draws the attention upward when people look at you. Its such a simple edition to an outfit but always makes a statement. When I wear my fedoras, I get compliments from men every single time I wear them without fail.

You may not think you're a hat person, but its just about finding the style that's right for your face shape. I have an oblong shaped face (like Blake Lively, Jennifer Garner, Liv Tyler, Chloe Sevigny, Gisele Bundchen, Sarah Jessica Parker) so a floppy hat, a cloche, berets worn low and fedoras with wide brims work really well for me. When a hat sits low on my forehead it creates balance in the length of my face. Conversely, I wouldn't wear a boater hat or a hat that is too tall. Hats go with almost any outfit and there's just something about hats that make you feel more confident. They give your outfit a personality while keeping the sun out of your face and hiding bad hair days. I assure you, anyone can look good in a hat. Hats are so aesthetic and I'm becoming more of an avid hat wearer.

The picture above is not my complete hat collection, the rest of my straw hats are in my shoe closet along with my berets and beanies. The fedoras are hung on the wall in my bedroom and I had to put the lightest hats on the bottom because otherwise in the dark it looks like there's someone standing in my bedroom. lol

Top Row: Old Navy and Brixton Joanna Felt

Middle Row: Gigipip Monroe Rancher and H&M

Bottom Row: unknown and Lack of Color

Additionally I have a Brixton Joanna straw hat which is the same shape as the Felt hat.

The H&M and Old Navy hats are soft and bendable for packing. The other hats are very stiff. If you didn't know, floppy hats are out of style right now. So swap those out for a stiff wide brim fedora hat. For reference, the panama and fedora hats are the same shape but made of different materials. I shared a little history on the Panama hat in this post.

The Monroe

Buying Guide

You will need to know your head circumference before buying a hat. A good hat will come in multiple sizes because after all humans don't have a one size fits all head. I have a large head and curly hair so I typically wear a size 61 in hats, except for Brixton hats where I wear a size medium. A hat should not leave a line on your forehead.

When buying a hat pay careful attention to the brim size and crown height. How a hat will look on someone else's face shape is not the same for how it will look on you. Example: Lack of Color Rancher is their most popular hat and I see tons of people wearing it so naturally I thought it would look good on me so I ordered it. Well the crown height is taller than any other hat I own and with my long face, I looked like Smokey the Bear wearing it. It was not flattering on me, but gorgeous on everyone else. Another tall crown gorgeous hat.

Here are some cheaper dupes for the Lack of Color Rancher hat as not everyone can afford a $150 hat:

Free People

Wyeth

Where to Shop

I recommend buying your hat from a store that takes easy/free returns like Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Revolve or Zappos. They carry all the major hat brands. When you order directly from hat brands Gigi Pip or Lack of Color you have to pay $20 shipping because it comes in a HUGE box. Because Lack of Color is an Australian brand, they don't take returns. Wherever you order form, read the return policy carefully so you don't have to physically carry a large box to the post office because the store doesn't email a return shipping label which I had to do once.

Madewell does collabs with all the major hat brands, just search their site for fedoras. H&M also carries nice affordable hats. JCrew carries a small selection of hats. Amazon has a ton of hats too. Rag and Bone is another brand. But once I started ordering from hat companies, I saw the difference in quality in design which is absolutely amazing and worth the investment! Gigi Pip and Brixton are my top two favorite brands. Brixton prices their hats more in the mid-range while Gigi Pip is more higher end.

I had wanted a Gigi Pip hat for a year and was dying for one but couldn't decide on the right one. They only have a sale 3x a year. Again ordering hats from a hat shop isn't easy like ordering clothes online where you can easily return at no cost. The advantage is that the hats do come in different sizes. I run into a lot of problems with one size fits all hats where they are too small so that's why I wanted to invest. They are high quality and are really sturdy, structured, and look amazing. It was my dream to get one! I was blown away with the quality when I got it and it comes in a big box so you can tell there's a lot of quality and care that goes into these hats so I can tell why they are expensive. They have great customer service if you email them any questions.

The Monroe Rancher in brown is their number 1 best selling hat and I wanted something that would be very versatile so I could wear it all the time. I love the tonal grosgrain band on the crown, that detail gives it more style. It retails for $146, pause for a reaction I know, that's why I held off for a long time. My second choice was the Miller hat but I don't have a black coat or a black dress to wear it with. The Luca in dark cherry is nice too.

Hat Care

You can use a hat brush or lint roller to remove dust from your felt hat. If your hat has a sweatband on the inside, you can use a toothbrush to clean it. I don't wear any makeup on my forehead on days that I know I'm going to be wearing a hat. The Gigi Pip hats have a black silky material lining which is the perfect color to put inside of a hat. If you go on vacation and your hat gets a little bent inside of your suitcase, you can use steam to reshape it. Once the hat is softened (not damp), you use your fingers to push it back in shape. Gamechanger!

I'm wearing the Cuyana hat here but it doesn't come in large sizes so this hat is actually too small for my head but I forced it on. When I look at front facing pictures of me wearing the hat, it looks like it's floating on top of my head because its so tight on me I would lift it up during the day and forget about it when I took a picture. I was iffy when I got the hat, but I couldn't find another white straw hat, they were all cream colored. So I kept the large box for a couple weeks, but having that large box in my home was annoying and ultimately decided that ok the hat fits only to realize after I threw away the box that the hat only fits when I have a salon blowout and my hair is at its thinnest (which is not often). So I bought a hat stretcher to make this hat work, but when I used it the hat made a snapping noise as if I broke it. lol I don't recommend the hat stretcher on straw hats. Meghan Markle looks nice in this hat though.