hair

THE HAT TRICK

POST + PHOTOGRAPHY BY KRISTIN ESS

Turns out the weather outside IS frightful in many parts of the country. Whether you’re blocking sun in Southern California or dodging hail in Wisconsin, hats are a great accessory but you have to know how to wear them! We’ve had a lot of requests for hat hairstyle ideas so I thought we could give you some of those along with some helpful tips. Here we go.

Heavy side parts + short hair: If you’re currently sporting short hair or a heavy side part, try wearing a wide-brim hat set back on your head. If you want to wear a hat with a heavy side part, setting the hat back is recommended so you can see that the heavy side part was intentional. If you wear the hat forward (like in the picture below) it just looks like one side is much heavier than the other. And for you shorties– show that hair. Set the hat back a little, exposing the “bang/fringe area” to show off that cute cropped cut without covering it up. The hat featured here is this wide-brimmed fedora from Nasty Gal.

First Timers: Best thing to do if you’re not sure if you look good in hats is start with something that looks good on nearly everyone– the felt floppy. There’s something so classic about the floppy and felt ones flex to fit pretty much anyone perfectly.  Wear it just below the hairline in the front. I would wear this to the beach or in the snow (as long as your hat is weatherproofed.) The reason I love to tell people to start out with a floppy hat is because you can wear it with pretty, simple, down hair as you normally would and feel completely comfortable. You’re not styling the hair for the hat. You simply pop the hat on top with a favorite outfit and go. Floppy hats look best with boho-inspired outfits, but here we paired this floppy hat from LovelyBird with a black wool cape for a more prim + proper look. Whether you have pin straight, curly or wavy hair, this is an easy go-t0. In this photo, we did our Every Day Waves and brushed them out.

For the pros: Cowboy and rancher-inspired hats can be a little tricky. They sit a little higher on the head than other hats and are more level, so I say take advantage of that lower space in back and make something cute happen! The back of the head doesn’t typically show much with a floppy hat or a fedora because of where the hats are placed and the angles in which they sit. If you’ve nailed the art of braiding put something interesting in the back! Here we paired a classic french braid in a U-shape with this hat from BCBG. You could also do a messy or coiled bun in back with one of these.

Keep it simple: This is my go-to trick for rainy days. I do a simple braid but one of the 3 strands is other braid, so it’s a braid within a braid. I do that and pull out a couple loose pieces around my face, pop a cute hat on and go. If you’re not sure how to do the braid within a braid, we did a post here. It’s great with a fedora. This one is from Anthropologie and is only available in-store.

Anywhere, anytime: There are so many beanies out there. We love the knit, slouchy kind because not only do they keep your ears and head warm, but they’re cuuuute. It’s hard to wear a beanie though. The best way to do it is to put it on your whole head and then pull it back to your ears. Let your “bang/fringe area” pop out and then stop. Now use large bobby pins to secure the knit beanie in place. It should fall over your ears. We love pairing it with natural waves and natural curls. If you have straight hair, give it a little texture so the beanie doesn’t constantly try to slide off. This beanie is from Forever 21 and available in stores.