Winter hats for women

Winter hats for women offers a dizzying array of styles, colours, textures, fabrics and choices. You'll go dizzy yourself trying to decide!

A winter hat for ...

The main purpose in buying a hat is what?

Ask yourself questions like:

Is it for everyday use like going shopping?
During extreme winters cold snaps only when you have to shovel snow?
For a sports-related activity like skiing or snowboarding?
Going to the park for a walk when the temperature is around zero?
Taking your children to school?

Hat types

Besides the most popular winter hat styles that anyone can wear, us women have a whole other selection of hats for the more dressy occasions.

This includes:

Floppy wool hats
Shaped wool hats and caps
Russian winter fur trimmed hats
Pull-on caps with in-built scarves
Berets
Cloches
Block hats
Large brimmed hats.

This range of winter hats for women can be eye-catching, stunning and very unique. Your budget can survive I hope, but there is something special about buying a truly beautiful, more up-market type of hat. I hope you find yours! Wearing your good winter coat, a fabulous hat, and you'll look and feel like a million dollars!

Hat materials

Winter hats for women can be found in an enormous range of natural fabrics and man-made materials. You will have fun deciding what you want to buy for your winter wardrobe - every year. A girl can't have too many hats and accessories in my opinion!

Hat styles

Just to name a few styles, winter hats for women can have:

Brims, both front and back
Decorative elements like tassels, pompoms or a fringe, flowers, buttons or other add-on features
Shaped hats can have hat ribbons, feathers, buttons, flowers and broaches that are used to define and decorate the brim from the crown of the hat
The popular beanie style may have long strings to tie under your chin to tie or not
Some hats have in-built scarves to wrap around your face and neck to keep the cold out
Trooper, trapper or aviator style hats have ear flaps that can hang loose or be tied under the chin.

The variety of hat colours and textures is quite amazing and includes:

Solid colours
Striped or checked colours
Patterns
Nubby textures
Weaves
Buffalo plaids

Some have a nylon waterproof outside layer with a warm fleece or wool layer inside. Does it need to be windproof only or more waterproof? Hats and caps with oilskin on the outside and fleece or sheepskin on the inside will be both.

Evening wear:

For more formal wear, perhaps you'd like a cloche hat. It's a retro-movie star look from the 1920's and 30's. It's a very stylish, fitted hat with a slight front brim but probably won't cover much of your ears. You'll look good but your ears may freeze!

Can you look stylish and be warm at the same time?

Of course!

Winter hat fashions for women change each year so if you are concerned with that, then you'll have quite a collection over time. When you get too many or no longer wear them, recycle them to places like the non-profit organizations in your area.

Rule Number One in buying hats in my opinion is:

Go for warmth every time.

Being cold is the worst misery. Heat loss happens the most through an uncovered head and it's fast too.

Style: The style of a hat can make you look quite different.

A felt or wool beret for example, looks best with someone who has long, straight hair. Perched on top of your head, you'll look very French with lots of cache. It will also dress up any long winter coat too giving you an elegant, sophisticated look, day or night.

Beanie-style hats are very versatile, very popular and come in many colours. There are different styles, shapes and sizes that adapt very well to whatever your clothing style is at the moment.

"Hat hair"

Winter hats for women do have one slight downside to it so keep this in mind. You most likely will end up with is 'hat hair'.

What is this?

If you leave your hat on for a long period, your hair gets matted down on your head, hence the term, 'hat hair'. The result is making you look a little less than your best from when you started out that day. The most likely type of hat to give you hat hair is the beanie-type cap as it usually has a tight fit.

Trapper hats may do the same while newsboy or school boy caps have more room in the upper part of the hat so it won't mat your hair too badly. I like wearing Indiana Jones fedoras so I don't get hat hair so much but I do get a ring around my forehead from the snug fit of the hat!

You might not want to wear a hat on occasion and definitely not get "hat hair" so there are alternatives such as earmuffs and headbands instead.

Colours for winter

What colour suits you the best is the first thing to guide you in your hat buying. A popular strategy is to buy either a contrasting or complementary colour to match your winter coat. Then there's the old standby of black or the same colour as your coat.

The darker jewel-tone colours like forest greens, browns, golds and reds, burgundies and blues (as well as the ubiquitous black of course) are the traditional ones that clothing manufacturers go for in developing their winter hat fashions for women.

My personal theory about winter is wear as bright or bold a colour as possible be it hat, scarf or mittens, even a coat or jacket. The small mental lift that a bright colour gives you just helps you to cope a little better on the short winter days.

Go wild! Give yourself a dose of colour therapy to brighten up the dull, grey and snowy days of winter.

Old hat - new life

Over time, you may end up with a collection of winter hats. With a little creativity on your part, you can give them a new lease on life by changing their look. With one older large brimmed hat, I added several different-sized material flowers in different colours, a broach to hold them mostly together and a feather twist to the band. Viola!

It's now my favourite reinvented hat (I could also audition for the role of Eliza Doolittle of "My Fair Lady" fame now too- minus the fabulous voice!)

Winter hat care

Caring for your winter hats and caps ranges from gently washing them to dry-cleaning them.

Wool and Cashmere may shrink when washed so you need to be careful. Using cold water and soft fabric detergent is the way to go for these fabrics. Fleece and acrylics will remain mostly the same and last a long time. With sheepskin and shearling hats, dry-cleaning them is the most likely way to go.

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