Very much like tailored clothing and neckties, traditional headgear, like hats has generally disappeared from people’s wardrobes. However, many women still wear hats on formal and casual occasions, especially at weddings and summer garden parties. While baseball caps and beanies are still popular among the young, straw hats are worn the most often by fashionable women to protect themselves from the harsh sunlight and still look elegant.
Why Buy a Straw Hat
The most unmistakable advantage of a straw hat is that it looks classy and is eco-friendly to boot. The full brim of most straw hats acts to flatter your face, and you do not have to deal with any of the social baggage that comes with other hat styles like fedoras. While the brim of the straw hat acts to provide a frame to your face, the crown helps to make your face longer. The wide brim of a straw hat makes it the ideal headgear for blazing summer mornings and afternoons as it keeps you from being burned by the UV rays in the sunlight. Your comfort factor gets a double boost on account of the low weight of the material and the ample ventilation provided by the weave of the straw hat. The fact that you can wear a straw hat with virtually any kind of apparel ranging from the traditional to the avant-garde makes it an unbeatable choice.
Things to Consider While Buying a Straw Hat
Size: Even though you may assume that you can wear just about any size of a straw hat, a hat that is too small will ride too high on your head and not give you optimal sun protection, while if it is too large, it will cover your eyes. The best way of getting your hat size right is to measure the circumference of your head by placing the measuring tape just above your ears. Your hat size is the diameter in centimeters.
Comfort: Even though you may tend to get swayed by the looks of the straw hat, you need to pay attention to the comfort factor. Even though it may be tempting to buy straw sun hats for women that are somewhat small to ensure a good fit, apprehending that with it will loosen and become more comfortable, straw hats can shrink with time and make the problem worse. You also need to know that you cannot stretch back most straw hats to their original size and shape. Ideally, you should buy a straw hat that fits comfortably. If it is a little loose, you can adjust it by putting in a sweatband that’s thicker, but there’s nothing you can do if it is tight.
Color: Traditional Panama straw hats are colored cream, which you may think will be difficult to carry off. In such as case, you can try a straw hat that is tan-colored for a more casual look. If you are buying a cloth hat, you will get better protection from the sun by choosing a fabric that is woven tightly and is colored dark. Shining torchlight through the fabric will tell you if the sun protection is adequate or not.
Full brim: If you are self-conscious, you may be tempted to buy a hat with a small brim under the impression that it will call for less attention. Unfortunately, small brims do not often work very well, and because they don’t pair well with your ensemble, they tend to look a little funny. A traditional wide brim can be daunting if you are new to wearing hats at first, however, over time, you will adjust to it and can carry it off with aplomb. For the best protection from the sun, you should choose a hat with a brim that is at least four inches around the entire hat. A large brim will ensure that you get adequate protection for your face, eyes, ears, and neck. While you can wear visors to protect yourself from the sun, but a wide brim ensures that you don’t have to take extra effort to keep sunburn at bay.
Read the label: Before putting your money down, you must read the label to find out the kind of material used in the hat and the care instructions. The label will also generally have information regarding the UV-protection. It is advisable to go in for a hat with an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) of at least 30. A hat with a UPF of 50 or more gives you optimal protection from the sun. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, a hat with a UPF will block 98% of the sun’s rays.
Conclusion
Buying a straw hat is not rocket science, but you do need to know a few things before you put down your money. These tips will help you to buy a hat that not only looks good but also gives you great sun protection and feels comfortable.
