An allergy against wool? That is terrible. I am so sorry. On the other hand console yourself you don't have an allergy against your favorite food. It would kill me if I couldn't eat ice cream or yoghurt anymore because of an allergy against dairy products.
That said, is your allergy specific to sheep's wool? Because the prime and premium hat material is fur felt made from rabbit and/or beaver, not felt made from sheep's wool. So perhaps these other felts will actually work for you.
Rabbit is generally softer, while beaver CAN be made even softer but is often used in stiffer versions. Beaver is obviously very water resistant due to the nature of the animal. Rabbit fur felt hats usually start at $100 and beaver at $180. If beaver is not particularly mentioned, you are dealing with rabbit fur.
On the matter of a hat for you, I won't be able to help much because I haven't scoured the market as I did for men's hats. But a lot of the links below will have ladies' hats, too.
There are some poly fiber hats. Attractiveness is so-so. The Panama is always a wonderful choice especially for sun. I have one, too, and love it. The Optimo with a very bowl shape crown is elegant in its simplicity and at the same time understated.
Otherwise, did you check into caps? Kangol makes an amazing range of caps in poly and natural fibers, the latest being bamboo. I just got one of their summer caps and it's quite nice. 50/60's look. The drawback is that it won't give as much protection as a wide brim hat but it keep the sun out of your eyes and away from your skull. Might be an option for your husband, too, instead of the baseball cap. It looks much more adult and dressed.
Now for your husband's hat, I think even in Europe with bad weather a gore-tex parka with hood over a suit or sport jacket is entirely acceptable. Many gents wear a Barbour or a Trench Coat (no hood) in foul weather. By the way, I had to look up Balmacaan. Here is the answer, in case anyone else doesn't know what it is:
http://www.askandyaboutclothes.com/f...ad.php?t=86596
I actually have one, made of calf suede leather, very nice. But I digress.
Hats.
http://www.firststreetleather.com/st...gfc214d2s.html
The above is a safari style hat. The Scala Outback from Dorfman Pacific is similar, not quite as nice and costs half. Very durable and thick, not for summer at all.
Akubra makes outdoor style hats and slightly more refined models. The quality is very good according to the hat specialist forums.
http://www.hatsdirect.com/cgi-bin/pr...n&returnpage=0
and here
http://www.davidmorgan.com/product_i...oducts_id=1128
http://www.davidmorgan.com/product_i...products_id=82
The British Christy's Foldaway Fur Felt Fedora costs around $200 here but can be ordered in England for about $120:
http://www.delmonicohatter.com/Merch..._Code=CHRISTYS
English site:
http://www.hornetshats.com/f_hatview...nk=Fur%20Felts
The Bailey's you mentioned is also an option, of course:
http://www.hats-plus.com/p-79-baker-...edora-hat.aspx
The Stetson Snowden even has ear flaps:
http://www.muldoons.com/muldoons/pro...G&dept_id=4453
That should get you started. The idea about the crushable hats is that they are rather soft, have no lining and a textile sweatband instead of leather. The brim edge is usually raw (not stitching and no brim band). The hat band can be made out of grosgrain ribbon but is often made of leather. These construction details make the hat more foldable and less fragile.
When they do go out of shape, it is relatively easy to bring them back to life with an iron and some light spray starch and steam. Light colors will actually be a little less fragile because one easily sees dust and fingerprints on darker colors.
Till