THE WAY YOU WEAR YOUR HAT

Hat Tips & Other Information

Best care for your hats

When putting on or removing your hat, always handle your hat by the "brim" (horizontal portion). Avoid handling the "crown" (tall or vertical portion of the hat) as much as possible. Continued handling of the crown could shorten the life of your hat.

Never rest your hat on it's "brim". Turn the hat upside down and rest it on the "crown". Resting a hat on it's "brim" will flatten-out the brim.

Dust your hat with a soft bristled hat brush often to keep it clean and dust free. A damp clean white cloth can be used on straw hats on occasion.

Avoid leaving your hat near direct heat such as stoves, radiators, lamps and car rear windows. Excessive heat will shrink the interior sweatband, and cause the hat to warp.

Store your hat in a cool dry area to help retain it's shape and to keep it clean. Out of season hats should be stored in a hat box for added protection.

What to do if your hat gets wet


Try to prevent getting your hat wet! Water will cause a straw hat to swell and lose it's shape.

If the hat does get wet, first return the hat to it's original shape, then turn down the interior sweatband and rest the hat on the sweatband to dry. Avoid resting the hat on it's brim while it is wet. Never expose a wet hat to heat, let it dry naturally at room tempature.

Measuring For Your Hat Size

Sizes vary with hair style, weight loss / gain, and age.

Head Size in Inches US Hat Size General Hat Size

20 7/8 --------------- 6 5/8 --------- Small
21 1/8 --------------- 6 3/4 --------- Small
21 1/2 --------------- 6 7/8 --------- Small
21 7/8 --------------- 7 ------------- Meduim
22 1/4 --------------- 7 1/8 --------- Meduim
22 5/8 --------------- 7 1/4 --------- Large
23 ------------------- 7 3/8 --------- Large
23 1/2 --------------- 7 1/2 --------- Ex-Large
23 7/8 --------------- 7 5/8 --------- Ex-Large
24 1/4 --------------- 7 3/4 --------- Ex-Large
24 5/8 --------------- 7 7/8 --------- Ex-Ex-Large
25 ------------------- 8 ------------- Ex-Ex-Large







KINDS OF HATS--WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE??
       

Baseball Cap -- Cloth cap with a wide peak at the front. Originally worn by baseball players with the team monogram on the front panel.  

Beret--Cap of felt, felted jersey or fabric with a soft, wide, circular crown. Some berets have an interior headband.

Bicorne--Men’s hats of the late 18^th. And early century: wide brims were folded up to form two points. Signature hat of Napoleon. 

Biretta--Square cap worn by clergy 

Boater--Oval flat-topped straw hat with a rigid flat brim. Also called a sailor or a skimmer. 

Bowler--Oval hat with round, rigid crown and modeled brim.  Also known as a derby, because the style was made popular by the Earl of   Derby in 19^th. century   England. 

Brim--The horizontal part of a felt or straw hat.  The brim may be turned up, turned down, or up in the back and down in the front.  Hats with the brim up in the back and down in the front are called “snap brims”

Bucket Hat--Fabric hat with a flat-topped, slightly conical crown sloping brim. 

Cap--Low profile fabric hat with a small peak at the front.

Chef’s Hat--White, starched bonnet worn by chefs.

Cloche--Women’s hat of the 1920s with a round crown and a modeled brim. 

Cocked Hat--Bicorne or tricorne 

Cowboy Hat--Hat with a high crown and a wide brim originally worn in the American west by cow hands. It is usually made of felt, leather, or straw.

Crown--The vertical portion of a felt or straw hat.  Many times there is a crease or “pinch” in the crown.

Crush Hat--Collapsible top hat 

Deer Stalker--Fabric hunting cap with visors both at the front and the back. It has earflaps that can be tied up over the crown. Also known as Sherlock Holmes hat.

Derby--Bowler or top hat for men; something extraordinary for the ladies 

English Driving Cap--Low–profile cap, originally only for men, with small brim at the front.  Crown may be tailored with side panels, or gored. 

Fedora--Felt hat with a lengthwise crease in the crown, and a medium brim. 

Fez--Conical, flat-topped cap of fed felt, once made only in the city of Fez, Marocco. Men’s headcover 

Felt--Made of short animal fibers which are interlocked when kneaded in hot water and steam.  Felt hats can be made of either fur felt or wool felt.

Forage Cap--Military cap with a small brim, also typical for police uniforms. 

Fur Felt Hat--Felt hat usually made from rabbit fur.  Beaver fur, or a blend, is used in the finest fur felt hat.

Garbo Hat--Slouch hat 

Gatsby--English Driving Cap 

Gaucho Hat--A black felt hat with a wide flat brim and shallow flat-topped crown. 

Glengarry--A Scottish cap with pointed front, usually a pair of trailing ribbons at the back. 

Godfather Hat--Hat style similar to a homburg

Gossamer Hat--Lightweight muslin hats sized with shellac and used as bodies for silk plush hats. 

Helmet--Protective head-cover: for soldiers,aviators, motor-cyclists, miners, bee-keepers, fencers, etc.

Homburg--Men’s felt hat with a soft lengthwise crease in the crown. And a narrow slightly rolled brim.   Made popular in the 1890’s by Edward, Prince of Wales (later Edward VII), who borrowed the idea from the hat of local militiamen in Bad Homburg, Germany. 

Indiana Jones Hat--Felt hat with a pinch in the crown and a wide turned-down brim.

Irish Walking Hat--Fabric hat with a high crown and a sloping brim.

Ivy Cap--English Driving Cap 

Jockey Cap--Cloth cap with close-fitting 6 panel crown and wide brim at the front. 

Mitre--Head-cover worn by bishops, characterized by two peaks. 

Mortarboard--Flat, square head-cover worn by professors and students for solemn academic occasions. 

Newsboy--Large, soft, 8-panel fabric cap with visor. 

Panama Hat--Straw hat made with panama cloche 

Peak--Visor 

Picture hat--A hat with a very wide brim, worn tilted to the side of the head. 

Pillbox--A small brimless cap with a flat tip and cylindrical side. 

Pith Helmet--Helmet of cork or pith (dried spongy tissue from the sola plant), covered with cloth. 

Poor-boy Cap--Large, soft, 6 or 8 panel fabric cap with visor and peak snap.  Sometimes with ear flaps.  Also called a newsboy 

Porkpie--Hat with a flat-topped crown and a small brim. There is a circular indentation in the crown.

Puritan;;Black felt hat with high conical crown and narrow straight brim, worn by the Puritans during the 17^th. century.  It was usually trimmed with a buckle at the front. 

Sailor--Boater 

Sherlock Holmes--Deer Stalker 

Skimmer--Boater 

Skull-cap--Small, close-fitting cap of fabric, knit or crochet.  When made of fabric it usually has six gores. 

Slouch cap--A soft hat with a high crown and drooping flexible brim.  Also called a Garbo hat, from the name of the actress who wore the style in many films. 

Snap Brim-Hat with the brim up in the back and down in the front.

Sombrero-Mexican hat with a hight, conical crown and very wide brim.  Usually of straw or felt. 

Stetson Hat--Stetson is a brand name of fine quality dress and western hats.  Many times a western hat is referred to as a Stetson.

Stocking Cap--Knitted cap, usually conical, often finished with a pompom. 

Stovepipe hat--A tall 19^th. century top hat, made popular by the U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. 

Tam-o’-shanter--Beret with close-fitting headband, usually trimmed with a pompom. 

Ten Gallon Hat--Cowboy hat 

Top Hat--Tall, cylindrical, flat-topped hat with modeled brim. 

Toque--Small hat for women with no brim, or small turned-up brim. French term for a chef’s hat.

Trilby--Felt hat similar to a fedora.

Tricorner--Men’s hat of the 18^th. century:wide brims were folded up to form three points. 

Turban--Typical head-dress for Muslin and Sikh men, constructed by winding a long scarf around the head. Women’s head-dress resembling men’s turbans.

Veil--Cloth, often transparent, or netting used to cover the head and/or the face, for women’s head-dress. 

Visor--A partial brim, usually extending out at the front of a hat or cap.  Also known as a peak. 

Western Hat--Cowboy hat

Wool Felt Hat--Felt hat made of felted wool.

Yarmulke--Skull cap worn by Jewish men.

Zucchetto--Skull-cap worn by Roman Catholic clergy: black for priests, purple for bishops, red for cardinals and white for the Pope.