Women Travelers - Hats! Do you wear them? Any advice?

I've been wearing my $11.99 target packable "straw" hat almost every day. I like keeping the sun off my face, and that it looks a bit glam, especially with sunglasses.

I don't like that it's plastic, which gets a bit hot. Also, as it's one size fits all, it's a little small and so has a propensity to blow away (I've sewed ribbons on to tie under the chin, which helps except I can't tie a bow with my broken arm!)

Do you wear a sun hat? Do you have any suggestions?

Tilleys come up a lot, but probably 85% of them skew too safari for my everyday wear, and they're a bit expensive to not wear all the time.

Coolibar has a big selection, but as it's one size fits all, and they charge for shipping, i'm a bit gun-shy without hearing first hand praise.

I wear sunhats in the summer or in tropical places. I love Helen Kaminski hats - she is from Australia and makes great hats that are comfortable and wear well [i even was mine!] and look classy

I love hats and own a couple dozen (not counting the couple dozen baseball hats I also have).

Crushable straw or cute cotton bucket hats are great for summer travel. In the winter or if going to a mix of seasons, I love a good soft felt cloche or derby. When I know I don't need to pack it, I sometimes wear a cowboy hat (hey, I'm from Texas).

My favorite straw hats came from upscale street fairs - the "art and wine" type fair. It's getting to be that time of year, perhaps you can find an event of that type in your area? Advantages are you can try the hat on and they tend to be less expensive that department store hats. My favorite is a straw boater with a wide red ribbon that I wear with a very tailored red linen dress - think summer wedding wear. Second favorite is an oversized woven straw sun hat, the big floppy brim type.

I love Tilley hats but wish they had a wider brim. I have a couple that have been in hard use for years and still do the job.

A friend of mine has this (http://www.tilleyendurables.com/detail.asp?catId=1&gender=u&extractBy=CategoryId&id=1&productNo=R2) straw hat from Tilley and it's wonderful - not "safari" at all. My friend's is the medium brim but they have a wide brim as well.

Helen Kaminsky hats are lovely, but expensive. I got the one I own on 75% close-out a few years ago. My current go-to hats are from Sunday Afternoons, you can check out their website and REI plus many other stores sell the brand. They have a number of styles, including the ones with the "veil" down the back to protect the neck. Some might find that style too dorky, but for casual wear in sunny situations the design is great. These hats are very popular in my new hometown, Santa Fe.

I have several SA hats and love them. All my hats have an adjustable neckstrap which I use all the time when it's windy. They have a NEW style this year which folds for travel and has its own pouch. Also new are a rain hat and a style for sailing/water situations.

I wear sunhats in the summer or in tropical places. I love Helen Kaminski hats - she is from Australia and makes great hats that are comfortable and wear well [i even was mine!] and look classy

Bingo! I have two of her hats and they are awesome!! I am not really a hat person, but I LOVE her hats.

Berets in winter, and a real panama straw as a sunhat - found in an op shop years ago. Also sometimes take a navy lacy synthetic straw I bought in the 70s...

At home I have about 20 berets and five "racegoing" hats made or bought for the Melbourne Cup. And a few more sunhats. I LOVE hats.

Thanks for all the suggestions! The Helen Kaminsky hats are very good looking-- it seems Nordstrom carries them, so maybe I'll pass through when we're near one next week.

Love the idea of browsing art markets, I think trying on the hat would help with the guessing about size issue.

Was the Tilley mentioned the wide brimmed raffia hat? It took me to a country select splash page, but for the US, that's the only wide brim mentioned.

Another vote for Tilley here. It took me ages trying them on at the main Toronto store but I opted for the safari style TH5 hemp one (http://www.tilley.com/detail.asp?catId=1&gender=u&extractBy=CategoryId&id=1&productNo=TH5). It's so comfortable I can wear it all day without even being aware it's there. Now I'm thinking of getting this less safari style TH9 one (http://www.tilley.com/detail.asp?catId=1&gender=u&extractBy=CategoryId&id=1&productNo=TH9)as well.

I don't wear safari hats. I thought the thread was going to be about stylish hats or maybe a really cute straw hat. I look great or ok in some hats; not so much or crap in others. But the safari hat definitely isn't my thing. That's just a personal preference though.

Cheers.

I love hats! And hat boxes! Enjoy the Peter Beaton link--click on Signature Collection for the classics. Straight Wharf for the packable/beach hats. :)

http://www.peterbeaton.com/Store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=2

I don't usually buy clothing or accessories at Target, but I came across this stylish linen fedora. I took the ribbon off so it would go with any colour outfit and it's been in and out of my suitcase for a week and still looks sharp. Came in handy yesterday in the hot Napa sun.
http://www.target.com/s/186-7024335-0301526?_encoding=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&keywords=linen%20hat&ref=sr_bx%5F1%5F1&searchNodeID=1038576%7C1287991011&searchPage=1

There are some very cute raffia and cotton hats on sale through tomorrow at Gilt.com from Kokin hats. I wish I would have seen that giant floppy one before it sold out ...not a great travel hat though given its size.

I don't wear safari hats. I thought the thread was going to be about stylish hats or maybe a really cute straw hat. I look great or ok in some hats; not so much or crap in others. But the safari hat definitely isn't my thing. That's just a personal preference though.

Cheers.

Almost none of the suggestions are for safari hats-- a couple people do seem to prefer the Tilley safari styles (which I presume suit them and look nice), but everything else has been much more "fashion" oriented like fedoras, wide brim straw, etc. Not sure what else you're looking for, hats like all fashion are so personal, so if you are interested in advice for something specific, you could just ask...

Oh, how I wish I was a "hat person." I've always wanted to wear hats, but strangely, felt it was a big fashion risk for me. I don't know why I feel that way. I own a few hats, which I bought as experiments, but other than a warm knitted hat in the winter, I can't quite bring myself to wear them, or I wear them for a few minutes, feel silly, and take them off.

I tend to be pretty brave overall, but hats really intimidate me. What's wrong with me?

GG

Oh, how I wish I was a "hat person." I've always wanted to wear hats, but strangely, felt it was a big fashion risk for me. I don't know why I feel that way. I own a few hats, which I bought as experiments, but other than a warm knitted hat in the winter, I can't quite bring myself to wear them, or I wear them for a few minutes, feel silly, and take them off.

I tend to be pretty brave overall, but hats really intimidate me. What's wrong with me?

GGI think a lot of modern women are intimidated by hats because they don't know what to do with their hair before, during and after a hat. A lot of blow dry styles look like he-- when you take the hat off. I've got longer hair, and always have to work out some sort of 'do for each hat - either pinned up and the hat above it, or front pinned back and the rest down my back, below the hat.

It's kind of like the hat and hair have to have some sort of stylistic connection to look right - a fab hat looks silly on plain, center parted hair, but a baseball cap looks o.k.

I think a lot of modern women are intimidated by hats because they don't know what to do with their hair before, during and after a hat. A lot of blow dry styles look like he-- when you take the hat off. I've got longer hair, and always have to work out some sort of 'do for each hat - either pinned up and the hat above it, or front pinned back and the rest down my back, below the hat.

It's kind of like the hat and hair have to have some sort of stylistic connection to look right - a fab hat looks silly on plain, center parted hair, but a baseball cap looks o.k.

It is also a matter of proportion - the hat has to relate to both the shape and volume of the hair and the silhouette of the body underneath. My hair is in a smooth ear-length bob, I'm tall and built like a brick dunny on toothpicks. A frilly fascinator perched on my head looks ridiculous, and a peaked cap is, to quote Granny, like a pimple on a pumpkin.

However I look spectacular in large swooping brims, where someone shorter or more petite looks like an ambulating mushroom, sharp in a fedora, but porky in a trilby or bowler, and great in a classic or floppy beret, but pinheaded in a pull-on cap like a beanie. And don't get me on the difference between a toque and a pillbox...

Then again, I started honing my eye and indulging in my passion for hats in the days when all ladies on an afternoon visit would remove the obligatory hat and leave it on their hostess's bed - easily accessible to a small girl, and bought my own first ones in the 60s, when hats were only worn for fun. Perhaps it takes trying tens or hundreds of hats to get comfortable choosing and wearing them.

Living in Skin Cancer Central is another incentive, of course.:p

It is also a matter of proportion - the hat has to relate to both the shape and volume of the hair and the silhouette of the body underneath. My hair is in a smooth ear-length bob, I'm tall and built like a brick dunny on toothpicks. A frilly fascinator perched on my head looks ridiculous, and a peaked cap is, to quote Granny, like a pimple on a pumpkin.
I love the cultural clues in this forum!

dunny - fascinator - peaked cap: two cultures set apart by a common language!

I'm a hat lover as well. At home I have a good selection of hats, including ones I wear to church. But those are for show.

My Tilley is on me 90% of the time in spring/summer/fall. Mine's an older (12 years) T4, with a sloping brim. It has dark green under the brim to cut reflection. I have a deep purple/green scarf that I tie around it to dress it up on occasion - but the hat suits me and I always wear earrings so that cuts down on the safari look.

I'm Canadian so I have a Tilley winter fedora as well. It is chic so needs no dressing up. In severe weather, the ear flaps and forehead warmer come out. Unfortunately, it doesn't crush, so it must be worn if I'm traveling with it.

My big issue is my RTW trips. Quite often I'll be the tropics for one week and northern Europe in January for the next week and two hats are necessary. The winter Tilley gets left behind, replaced by a knit hat with a brim that just isn't as warm but is all I have room for in my suitcase.

As for hat hair, that's an issue but my hair is shoulder length and a good cut so most of the time it just shakes out fine. A well fitted Tilley is actually a bit loose so doesn't crush your hair. The strings on the inside are designed to give you a tighter fit if you need it (read the brochure carefully - I wore mine wrong for the first 7 years, using my hair twisted up to make the fit tight in wind) and now work hard to teach people how to wear them correctly. When my hair was shortened to shoulder length there wasn't enough of it to make my Tilley tight and that was when I learned I was wearing the hat wrong!

I often don't wear hats when I should (the old hat hair thing) but when I do it is my reliable Tilley. They are not cheap, but they are worth it! The selection has gotten more interesting. My Tilley has helped me climb an Egyptian Pyramid...how I could I not love it?

I got this hat at a resort years ago and use it whenever I travel to sunny locales. Folds up nicely for packing.
http://www.sandiegohat.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=347

Do you wear a sun hat? Do you have any suggestions?


I never order a hat from online, I have to try them on. I probably own about 2 dozen. Like Techgirl I am from Texas so I have a couple of cowboy hats in the rotation. I love wearing hats and coordinate them with outfits. I actually like my some of my hats just a tiny bit loose if I am going to remove my hat later on and don't want hat head. Burlington Coat Factory has Nine West hats for usually about $10 or $12 dollars in many shapes, styles and colors. I also like Betmar hats, I have several Betmar hats which I find at Dillards and Macys, I wait for them to go on sale. Berets don't look good on me but I have many other styles that I love. One of my favorite is a Betmar leopard hat, another is a black straw bowler. My go to straw hat for keeping the sun off my face is a packable Nine West. My hiking hat is a Columbia.

I get compliments all the time on my hats and the fact I wear them. It is quite windy in Texas, how do I keep my hat on? If it isn't designed with a string and most of mine aren't, one hand on the head.

Just back from Phoenix, took a straw hat and a light blue cotton Helen kaminski. ON the plane I put the straw in the overhead and it was crushed. Didn't want to keep on my lap but thought it might be crushed and of course it was

Anyone have any tips for non crushable hats on plane - of course maybe not taking it is the best

If you're in Asia try STS for hats. They have a strong presence in Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau and China. They're a Canadian company but sell private label in N. America. Some of their products may be available in Toronto or Vancouver.

For summer travel I prefer their rollable straw hats that are available in many colours though I tend to stick to black/white for summer travel. These hats are just the brim (without the top) and are secured in the back by adjustable velcro hidden by a simple bow. You can either roll them up and stuff them in your handbag or loop them around a handbag strap. I find that the open top makes it easier to adjust the hat to your hairstyle or vice versa. ^

For winter travel, I have some of their water-resistant bucket hats. They are lined with either fleece or wool and some are even reversible. My favourite one is one with fold-out earflaps when the temperature really drops.

For doing stuff around water, I prefer Tilleys as they hold up well. I have an old T4 and a new Gardener's hat in their traditional canvas material.

bought a new straw hat with brim and nice built in straw band/ribbon This is crushable and will replace the straw hat that was broken when I put it into the overhead

Walmart $7

bought a new straw hat with brim and nice built in straw band/ribbon This is crushable and will replace the straw hat that was broken when I put it into the overhead

Walmart $7

Hey, awesome, thanks for the tip! Hope they've got 'em at my Walmart. :)