Ask Angie: HATS!!!!! - YouLookFab Forum

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Ask Angie: HATS!!!!!

LadyGeek

HATS!!!!!
I can't wear sun creams as I suffer from really dreadful prickly heat so I just cover up all the time.
Clothes are fine(ish).
But what on earth do I put on my bonce to protect scalp and tops of my ears, as well as my forehead and tops of my cheeks?
Hats also get so hot and don't stay on in the wind, so I feel I'm drawn to a little bonnet tied with ribbon under my chin :(.
Please, please help - I can't find ANY styling advice for hats (or summer head coverings) anywhere!
I'm 5ft in stockinged feet; slim (petite) build; fair colouring.

Thank you!

Dressing

19 replies

Latest reply was from Gail

Anonymous

I'm glad you asked this question - I almost posted a similar "ask Angie" the other day. I'd love to see a hat wrap-up , or a feature on styling hats. We all should be wearing one anyways.......

I walk around with one hand on the top of my head half the time trying to hold my hats on in windy conditions. I like straw fedoras and big 70's sunhat. I also particularly like the word "bonce".

Anonymous

I wear a straw fedora all summer. It seems to look great with everything. If you get one that fits snugly, it should stay on in all but the strongest winds.

Are there any non-oil-based sunscreens you could use so your pores don't get blocked up? That prickly heat is a bear, for sure.

Sheila

Veteran

With my fair skin I am wearing hats most every day now...even in the colder months. I am developing a rather diverse hat capsule. One of my 'must-haves' is a chin strap for my summer travel hats. I suppose it is not a very 'fab' look but it is a great relief to know that I won't waste my investment when stiff winds arise. Especially useful when cruising. In the colder months I wear hats like berets and knit caps; in the warmer months mine are all straw in various shapes, colors, and brim widths. Oh and I wear baseball caps when I am walking for exercise.

L'Abeille

Veteran

The (private, cosmetic) dermatologist in our little beach town has the most amazing collection of hats in her office. I wish I had looked there sooner. I now have a Tilley hat (summer weight) which comes with a strap and also a lifetime guarantee against loss or being dunked in the ocean and run over during an attempted man-overboard drill (both of which have happened to hats of mine). If I am not somewhere windy enough to need a chin strap, I have a collection of straw and straw-like wide-brimmed hats that I love.

Sheila

Veteran

L'Abeille -- my husband wears a Tilley hat in the summer and he loves it! They are classic, I think.

JAileen

Veteran

I have a Tilley hat too, and my husband has two. We live at 4500 feet and you can burn really fast in thinner air. I also have several baseball hats and a couple straw hats. The straw hats almost never get worn. Mostly I wear a hat because I'm hiking, birding or dog walking. At a dressier event I'll always sidle over to the shade.

calmwave

I wear several straw/paper hats in the summer. I have a white Banana Republic panama hat with a black band and black piping on the rim. I use bobby pins to secure it through the hat to my hair - one on each side and one in the back. THe band hides the pins. Has defied even the strongest winds. Pins are undetectable on my navy floppy straw hat and brown paper cowboy hat. An old school solution for straw or paper hats.

Ginger

Veteran

I'm very picky about hat shape (and hat hair), but I love hats! There's a somewhat limited selection of styles that shade face AND ears. Baseball caps and narrow brim fedoras don't make that cut. My favorites are wide-brim fedoras and panama-like hats. They look particularly smashing when tilted to one side, which can be extra useful when the sunlight is at an angle. Big 70s hats have the most shade - though unless your climate is calm, I'd go for a stiff brim. Otherwise it will be not just shading your face, but covering it! (Been there, done that, got the t-shirt...)

It's almost always windy where I am, and a hat has to be tight enough to give me a headache to not come off. (You can imagine what that does to my hair.) I put hat elastics in all of my hats now.
https://www.judithm.com/produc.....t-elastics

You can wear them under the chin, but it's just as effective to wear around the back of the head. And looks a lot more sophisticated.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Sounds like you need a fun straw hat and a fedora. A haute baseball cap could work too. Does that sound like it would fit into your style?

I wear a straw cowboy hat. See the custom find below.

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EYourlife2012 Women's Straw Wide Large Brim Floppy Flax Bow Bowknot Sun Summer Beach Cap Hat

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Marks and Spencer

M&S COLLECTION Luxury Panama Hat

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Collection XIIX 'Color Expansion' Baseball Cap

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Echo

Veteran

Summer straw hats with wide brims and a string or strap to fasten or tie under the chin are what comes to mind for me. These are from Amazon, and they may not be stylish, but they can give you an idea of what you could wear. All any straw hat needs are two small holes where the top meets the brim for a strong to go through.
http://www.amazon.com/Straw-Pa.....B012T0D15E

http://www.amazon.com/Straw-Su....._pr_sims_i

http://www.amazon.com/Womens-F.....B004JNZP2W

rabbit

Veteran

I wear, and love, a baseball cap from a local hardware store. But I think I could use a more haute baseball or narrow brim fedora style for non-gardening/hiking times. Baseball caps look good with my haircut and lips (forwards or backwards), wide brim hats tend to kind of overwhelm my frame, I look like the letter 'T'.

Theodora

I have a hard time finding hats that fit at all, as I have a small head, I guess! One size hats go over my eyes, so I can't even see. I wish I could find hats that came in sizes. I love the straw hats with wide brims, but not if they make me look like a 4 year old trying on her Nana's hat
Baseball caps are the same. The only ones that fit right are kids size!

Helen11

Veteran

I'm still searching for the perfect hat, too! Like Theodora, I have a small head so the cheap one-size from the chain stores aren't much good. I like hats to have an adjustable elastic on the inside. I had used a proper hat pin in the past, but my hair is now too short for that.
Yes, please, to a feature on styling hats!

Anonymous

Theodora and Helen, I have a small head too. Even if I find a hat that fits, they often stretch out. For straw hats with bands inside, I sometimes cut that sticky-back moleskin meant for shoes and place it inside the band to keep a hat on my head. Of course, that only works if the band is stitched down along one edge, not both.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Another small-headed fan of hats checking in. I choose baseball style caps with adjustable back bands for workouts and outdoor work, but they make my head sweat and itch after a while, so I usually end up ditching them after a bit.

I have a straw fedora with a black studded band that I wear a lot for summer outings and vacations. But sometimes it just feels like a lot going on to wear the requisite sunglasses, hat, earrings, etc., with my outfit.

I also have a wide-brimmed straw hat for beach and pool vacations, but it's brown, which is not my favorite, so I end up not wearing it much.

I actually have a nice little collection of hats, mostly fedoras since they don't overwhelm my pin head the way other hats do, but I haven't worn them much in recent years as I've been aiming for a simpler style. That final accessory just doesn't get worn.

L'Abeille

Veteran

Leave no stone unturned! I have found hats in the men's department. My daughter at age 30 has found them in the children's department (Joe Fresh; toddler sizes).

LadyGeek

Wow, what amazing feedback - thank you soo much to all!
Such practical - and imaginative - suggestions. I plan to read them all tonight and sort this problem once and for all this summer.
Sorry for late appreciation - DH been poorly. Huge thanks to all; much appreciated!

LadyGeek

Ha ha LisaP; you've uncovered my Cockney roots!

Gail

Veteran

I'm from the UK and we grew up using the word bonce, it's one I particularly love !
I find as I get older the top of my head gets really hot and I need a hat. I usually wear a baseball hat due to the straw ones blowing off. Not sure why I didn't think of pinning it on - duh .