Best Summer Hats for Women: Goodbye Bad Hair Days!
Summer Hats add loads of style and keep your hair from frying in the sun. But even better, they come to the rescue on a bad hair day (LOL!) Here are three of my favorite summer hats—no baseball caps included!
1. Floppy Sun Hats
The floppy hat is a staple of the boho style. Popular with the rich and glamorous in the 70s, it has a movie-star quality that can’t be denied. It’s a natural at the pool or beach. Modern ways to wear one:
- Wear it with a flowy long dress in a feminine floral print. I love it with my one-shoulder maxi!
- Pair it with more tailored pieces like capris and a tee at the beach. I can’t afford to burn, and this full-brim hat gives me great protection. Still, I wear lots of sunscreen, too!
- Wear a Floppy Sunhat with a Message—Hats with embroidered greetings like “Hello Sunshine” are cute and fun to wear. Depending on my mood, I wear my hat with the embroidered message at the front, back, or sometimes side.
This darling hat makes me smile every time I wear it, and I always get lots of women asking me where I bought it. (Hint: link for the hat at the bottom of the post!)
2. Bucket Hats
Bucket hats are more popular than ever because they’re a great alternative to baseball caps.
If your style veers towards preppy or athletic, then this style of hat is for you! Here’s how to wear a Bucket hat:
- Wear it with a cute Beach coverup and sandals, like I am here.
- Combine it with preppy staples like cropped pants and flats. It’s a perky, cute look!
- Try a bucket hat with canvas tennis shoes and shorts for an athletic spin on this style.
Unlike floppy hats, bucket hats can’t be worn in the evening. The beauty of the bucket is that it’s a casual daytime piece- and sporting one after dusk will make you look seriously out of place.
Other tips for nailing the look: Keep the rest of your outfit streamlined and simple. It doesn’t go with anything busy or ruffled. You want the interesting shape of your hat to be the showstopper here.
And if you’re going to work the trend, try a bucket hat in a preppy pattern or some sporty stripes!
3. Medium Brim Straw Hat
A medium-brim straw hat is lovely and ladylike. It’s perfect with a short summer dress or midi. The brim is wide enough to keep the sun off, but it’s not big and floppy like a beach hat.
This is a cute one, especially with the black bow, which dresses it up a touch.
I love to take this hat with me when I travel. It is made of a packable material. I fold it and slip it into my suitcase, which looks as fresh as a daisy when I arrive at my hotel.
It’s also handy to pop into a tote when going to an outdoor restaurant, and I wonder if you can get a table with an umbrella!
Great Hats at Amazon
Do you wear sun hats? Which is your favorite type of sun hat?
It is boiling here in Austin (107 yesterday!)…so a lightweight shirt with turned-back cuffs and a tank could be an excellent option.
This is good information. I love hats, but I always look like a total geek in them. Maybe these tips will help me find the right hat.
A couple of comments about wearing a straw fedora: you need to wear fedoras on the back of your head. You aren’t getting all the style ‘oomph’ out of a fedora shape if you wear it straight down, either. One way to get even more tone out of a fedora (felt or straw) is to take one hand and pull it down right over one eye once you have put it on your head. Very stylish and 40s. Another way to get more style out of a fedora shape hat (and frankly, it’s better in terms of protecting your skin) is to get one with a slightly larger brim – closer to 3″. A third way to get more style options out of a straw fedora is to take a scarf (or even a piece of fabric that is 30-36″ on the longest side)and tie it over the hat band. You don’t have to take the hat band off; fold up the scarf (on the triangle with all the extraneous ends folded in so you have an oblong with pointed ends works best for large square scarves; oblong scarves work just the way they are)and tie it around the hat over the band. If you have an oversized scarf, you can pin one end about 3″ off the center front and twist it around the hat. When you get to where you pinned the first end, pin the part of the scarf you are turning to secure it, swirl and twist the rest of the scarf into a flower shape right there—instant matching glamour.
Hi Toby, You sound like a real expert on fedoras! Thanks for all your great tips!
I’ve found that now I’m in my 40s, baseball caps don’t look the greatest. I’ve never tried wearing a Fedora, but I love newsboy caps. There are some adorable styles out there. For example, some have cute floral designs or a cute flower on the side. Steinmart has some lovely hats and sometimes Khols & Target.
PS, what is a newsboy cap? Not familiar with this one. Tks!
Hi Lynne, Think flatter than a baseball cap. Here’s a photo: http://bit.ly/1nF4kTn