How to Wear a Hat

For Women: Great Hats for Spring and Summer

Wear a cloche hat. Cloche hats, or "flapper hats," are made either with or without brims.

Try out a newsboy hat. Also called "paperboy hats," these hipster hats look great with both casual and professional wear. They are suitable for round and oval faces.

Put on a giant sun hat. These hats have floppy brims and are great to wear during the daylight hours. If you're wearing this type of hat in winter, choose a sun hat made of felt.

For Women: Hat Choices for Fall and Winter

Wear a Victorian top hat. These hats are great with any outfit and are a great touch for a steampunk ensemble. Just keep the outfit simple since these hats are pretty elaborate.

Don a pork pie hat. Pork pie hats were invented in the Victorian period. Although they were traditionally worn by men, they look great on women as well.

Deck yourself out in a beret. Knit and wool berets are great for the cooler seasons.

Flaunt a fedora. These hats were also originally designed for men, but they look great with a woman's suit or even with girly dresses.

For Men: Great Hat Ideas

Wear a flat cap. These hats look great with a suit or when you're wearing a large overcoat or trench coat.

Put on a fedora. Humphrey Bogart and Frank Sinatra will have nothing on you when you put on your own fedora with either formal wear or business suits. However, fedoras are so versatile that you can also wear them with a polo shirt or T-shirt.

Try out a homburg. You've seen this hat in the Godfather movies, and lately you've seen it resurrected by Tupac and Snoop Dogg. Whether you're going for gangster or don, you'll look great in your homburg hat.

Put on a pork pie hat. These hats were invented in the Victorian era for men and were named for their resemblance to a pork pie dish. Think Gene Hackman in The French Connection.

Go with a bowler hat. Think of Charlie Chaplin or an old 19th century New York City gangster. This hat looks great with a suit or with a nice shirt and a vest.

General Guidelines for Wearing a Hat

Pick a hat that matches your proportions. If you're petite, a huge wide-brimmed hat could totally overwhelm you. Instead of using size to make a visual statement, choose a hat with bold colors or vibrant trim instead.

Select a hat that flatters your hairstyle. You can wear a small hat to one side and twist a chignon on the opposite side. This effect also makes your neck appear longer.

Wear a hat that complements the shape of your face. If your face is round, choose a hat that has a broad brim to balance out the fullness of your face. If your face is long, choose a softer design or something with movement, like feathers. For a square-shaped face, choose an asymmetrical hat to balance the angle of your jawline. People with heart-shaped faces are the luckiest. They can carry off almost any type of hat.

Choose colors that flatter your skin tone. If you have a bold hat, tone down your makeup so that you don't look clownish.

Connect your hat to your outfit. If you're wearing a dress with a peacock pattern, then try a hat with a jaunty peacock feather to unify the outfit. However, if your hat is bold, tone down accessories like jewelry so that you don't look garish.

Secure your hat to your head. This advice may sound obvious, but the last thing you want to do is to spend your entire day clutching your hat against your head. Use thin elastic bands, ribbons or combs to make sure that your hat stays in place.