Wide Brim Sun Hats
My kids call me the Man in the Yellow Hat. I don’t have one quite as yellow as the Curious George books but I do have a few and I wear one pretty much every day of the summer! I’m sure I got all the sun I will ever need for one lifetime during a few teen summers as a lifeguard. Since then I have been on a sun protection quest. I love a baseball cap, and have a visor that I love but these sun hats offer more sun protection and look chic anywhere from a pool to a ball field to working in your garden.
Hands down the most flattering hat I have found is the Freya Gardenia Hat. I got it to wear to Disney a few years ago. This was the gateway hat that started it all. A friend of mine wore one a few weeks before this trip and looked so chic (as well as cool and protected from the sun!). After seeing hers, I splurged and haven’t looked back. The woven straw, interior lining and wide grosgrain ribbon are so well made and make for polished, clean look. There are a variety of shades of straw and ribbon to choose from. Freya also offers several embroidered straw options that I am always pining over as well. Their wide brim visors are next level chic and on my short list.
The only reason I ever wanted another style of hat was the travel issue. You will find me in a wide brim hat at home most days of the summer. I wear them, to swim meets, the park, and working in the yard. I really wanted to have a packable sun hat for the beach or times I’m traveling. The thing that makes them so awesome (the wide brim) is also their downfall when it comes to packing.The Freya hat and a few others are made of straw that is pretty stiff. I’ve never tried smushing it a suitcase (and wouldn’t really recommend). I have carried it on planes but it has as always been a little bothersome.
My most recent purchase is this lighter Janessa Leone hat I am wearing above. I saw this hat on Shea McGee of Studio McGee and several other celebs. Since my Color Analysis I am slowly shifting towards cooler neutral pieces and accessories and have looked for something in a lighter color. This big bonus of some of the Janessa Leone Hats is that they are packable. These are also pricey but it also feels like a very well made investment piece.
Favorite Sun Hats:
If you are hat shopping this summer I would start with the Freya Gardenia. It comes in several colors of straw and with several variations of ribbons. Their Redwood Hat is my next pick. Don’t be scared of a wide brim. By the time you are wearing any of these hats you have already committed to the hat and I think sometimes a smaller brim (like on some fedora style hats) looks like you got nervous at the last minute so the wider the better. My last Freya Hat pick is this visor which is fabulous. Speaking of visors this straw visor is a really classic, polished look if you want the straw look but don’t want the full from coverage. There is an also a color blocked one of that I love. This plaid straw hat has a great pattern and is a great price point. The Brixton Hats are also a great option.
