Hats are my FAVORITE. If you follow me on Instagram, you probably see that I wear one more often than not, and I cannot resist buying a new one if it looks like it would be a good addition to my collection. Seriously. I’m always buying hats.
I’ve had a few people reach out to me recently regarding my hat collection, with general questions about where I buy them. Sooooo … I figured this was an excellent excuse to put a little post together about where you too can get the perfect head-topper.
Madewell’s hat collection is seriously drool-worthy, and every piece Biltmore x Madewell puts together is a must have in my opinion. I own a black fedora and I wear it WAY more than I probably should. From Coachella to style shoots to drinks in Downtown LA – that hat is on top of my head a lot, making it well worth the investment. That being said, keep an eye out for one of Madewell’s epic sales; I got my hat for almost thirty dollars off the original retail price. Sometimes it pays to wait!
Madewell’s sister store, JCrew, also sells an insane collection of hats and similarly to Madewell, you can usually track down a great hat for a great deal when they’re having one of their many sales. I got a totally fab floppy wool hat a few months back for a mere fourteen dollars. What I like about JCrew hats as opposed to Madewell is that you can get hats that are a little bit more “kooky” – they stock more hats of the straw/baseball/sunhat variety than Madewell does. Don’t forget to check out the JCrew outlet as well – sometimes they get pieces that the regular store will never have.
Note: JCrew will give an additional 15% off ANY purchase in-store if you can show them a college ID card.
Urban does a delectable job of offering SO many different styles at somewhat reasonable prices. Big hats, small hats, baseball caps, floppy sunhats, western-inspired and so much more. The only issue I’ve had with hats from Urban is the sizing – sometimes I just feel like my head is too big for a lot of their hats which makes it hard to find ones that fit me. If you can try it on in-store, DO IT. If you’re okay with risking the online purchase, best of luck.
Forever 21 has been my go-to for trendy, fast-fashion pieces, even before I worked there. Similarly to Urban, I sometimes have an issue with sizing, since the hats (even the large ones) feel a little bit tight on my noggin. However, for the price, Forever 21 is hard to beat. If you’re just getting into hats, Forever 21 may be the perfect first stop for you – since you can try out different styles and see which one suits your face/own personal style the best. But keep note, as with all pieces from Forever 21, you get what you pay for. The quality isn’t even close to the pieces that you would get from JCrew or Madewell.
For the girl on a serious budget, Target cannot be beat. They have every kind of hat you can think of and the prices are on another level. I usually buy my straw hats from Target, since these are the ones I usually bring with me when I’m going to the beach or on vacation. If anything happens to it, I won’t be devastated and at the same time, I’m still consistently pleased with the extra oomph that Target hats add to an outfit. Fun fact: I buy my Dodger baseball hats at Target, too! Like Forever 21, don’t be expecting top-quality materials.
Other places to look?
I’ve gotten a surprising number of hats from mall kiosks. Usually they have the trendy shapes and sizes in a variety of colors, which is what I’m always on the hunt for. The prices are usually reasonable and, if you’re good at it, you may be able to even negotiate for a cheaper price. I’ve also gotten hats at outdoor markets in different countries, random stores in random malls in the middle of nowhere and even in Wal-Mart of all places. They sell them everywhere. And the beauty of a hat is that they are incredibly easy to try on.
Some Final Thoughts
I’d always go bigger than smaller. Yes, a hat could be a bit big on you, but I’ve always noticed if my hat is a bit too snug on my cranium, I wind up with a monster headache within a few hours.
I also tend to stick to smaller shapes and an over-sized Fedora or Panama hat is usually my go-to look. My face is, for the most part, pretty small – so when I wear a monster floppy hat, it looks like my I’m getting eaten alive. I generally find that I can still have the drama that a hat can bring, even with a smaller brim.
Overall, though, buy what makes you feel good. Hats are SO much fun and they add such flair and pizzazz to any outfit. I even wear mine with bathing suits (and let’s be real, pretty much anything else). Hats used to scare the crap out of me, but now, since I’ve dared myself to try wearing them more, they have become one of my favorite accessories.
Happy Hunting!
