It’s that time of year when we start dusting off last summer’s clothes to see if they are still fit to wear. Will that white linen shirt still be white? Can I still get into my swimsuit? And very important these days to avoid getting sun burnt, where is my sun hat?
I don’t know about you, but I find one sun hat is never enough. They are a bit like umbrellas; everyone needs three. One for home, one for work and one to leave on the train!. Whenever the sun comes out I can never find my hat.
One way to make loosing your hat less likely is to keep it on. That way you always know where it is. But to be able to wear a sun hat for long periods it needs to be comfortable.
A comfortable sun hat is one which is the right weight and the right size. Not so heavy that it weighs you down and not so light that it blows off at the first sign of a breeze.
Making sure you have the right hat size is straightforward enough, but you need to know what size your head is and many people find this confusing. The simplest measure is the circumference of the head at the widest part, usually just above the ears.
Most sun hats sold in the UK will be sized in centimeters. Some however will still come in the imperial sizing and you should be aware that for some strange historical reason, US imperial hat sizes are ¼” smaller than UK imperial sizes.
A small medium sun hat would typically be a size 58cm for a man and size 55cm for a woman. A medium large sun hat would be a size 60cm for a man and size 57cm for a woman.
Over time a hat may shrink very slightly so it is better for it to start off too big than too small. That being said the change should only be slight and it is possible to stretch hats if they shrink.
The best sun hats for comfort are handmade in Ecuador and are known as panamas. The name comes from the building of the panama canal rather than Panama the country. These hats are made of Paja Toquilla straw and can be crocheted or woven. The crocheted hats are more informal and slightly heavier, but both can be worn all day without any discomfort.
The only problem with wearing such a comfortable hat is that you won’t know if you’re wearing it or not! So if you do take it off and leave it no the train, it could be days before you realize!
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