Beanies are soft and cosy, knitted Winter cone-shaped or cylindrical hats that fit closely to the head. They are designed to insulate, keeping your head and ears warm. They can be decorative and fun to wear. Beanies are made of knitted natural or synthetic yarn. I’ve seen woven fleece beanies too. The knits can be fine gauge or chunky, any colour and pattern, and vary in silhouette and stitch interest. Some are sleek and fitted, while others are oversized. Some have brims that create a double layer on your forehand and ears. Some are slouchy, and some have pom-poms.
I live a few blocks away from the water in downtown Seattle, where it’s often cold, wet, and windy. As a result, headgear is extremely popular in my neck of the woods. Almost everyone wears a beanie, hood, or cap for at least six months of the year. You’ll see people wear beanies before they wear coats. Some wear hoods over beanies for extra insulation, and to keep off the rain or snow. Suffice to stay, you stand out here if you’re not wearing some sort of head covering outside.
I think people look great in beanies and enjoy the large variety on the street. To my eye, beanies look especially good when hair peeks out from underneath them.
I wear beanies regularly too. Visually, I prefer the look of a beret with my short hair, but don’t find them effective. My ears ache when they’re uncovered in the cold wind, and since I don’t have hair covering my ears, nothing keeps them as insulated as a beanie. So I wear a beret occasionally, and default to beanies most of the time.
I have a large assortment of beanie silhouettes and thicknesses in neutrals and non-neutrals. I have a small head and sometimes buy children’s sizes. I’ve successfully shrunk wool beanies in the tumble dryer to make them fit. I enjoy chunky beanies with pom-poms the most. Their drama and height appeals to me, and pom-poms are playful! I also like slouchy beanies and sleek beanies with folded rims.
Here is my current beanie collection:
I prefer solid beanies to patterned ones. I like to wear cream and blush beanies because they are low contrast to my hair, which creates a cohesive effect. Cream and blush beanies are likely to match my bookended footwear, which can pull a look together too. I also enjoy wearing beanies in my happy sour brights and dark blue. Over time, I’d like to add light blue, turquoise and burgundy beanies to my capsule.
I match beanies to scarves, handbags, gloves, and outerwear so that my outfit looks polished. But I will frequently default to a cream or blush beanie if I need a fast fallback option because those colours work well with my hair and footwear. That’s why my cream beanies are a wardrobe essential for my style.
I don’t think short hair looks bad with a beanie at all. Even if I did, I’d wear one because I hate to feel cold. I do make sure that a bit of my fringe peeks through in the front from under the beanie just because it looks more attractive to my eye. And yes, I get ‘hat head’, but it’s not that bad. I tousle my hair a bit afterwards, and it looks just fine.
Over to you. Do beanies feature in your style and in your neck of the woods? If so, which styles and colours are your favourites?
