Each man has his own proportions and physical characteristics, including head shape, facial bone structure, and overall height and weight. When investing in a hat, those need to be carefully considered.
Hat Anatomy
The brim is the horizontal rim of the hat, and the crown is its vertical dome. There are classic styles from fedora to porkpie and from Panama to newsboy and driving caps. Then you have baseball caps, military style cloth hats, bucket hats, and a variety of different styles of cowboy hats─plus lots of other types.
The choices are numerous, but you want to ensure that the ones you select are the ideal shape and design for your own unique proportions. Some are best for large, stocky or portly men. Others are better suited for those who are tall and slender, and there are also designs for those who are shorter or somewhere in between.
Big Guys
When a very large man wears a small hat, it makes him look even bigger. So big men should opt for hats with medium crowns and wide brims (three inches or more), which offer the most complementary proportions. A wider hatband is best, too, but choose one that is similar in color to the hat. That’s because a high-contrast hatband visually cuts the hat in half, making it appear smaller, defeating the goal of wearing a larger-looking hat.
Shorter Men
Men who aren’t that tall can gain visual height by wearing a wardrobe that lengthens their appearance. With a hat, that means wearing one that has a taller crown, to accentuate a vertical rise. Pair that with a hat band in a contrasting color and it will look even taller. A brim that’s turned upward can also add visual height. But however you wear the brim, it should be relatively narrow. Think two inches or less.
Tall and Slender
For those who are tall and slender, a low or medium height crown is recommended, combined with a wider hat brim that can be snapped or tilted downward. The downward tilt will balance your height so you don’t look like a beanpole. If you are tall and trim, you may also want to consider wearing your hat cocked slightly to one side. That will enhance your proportions even more, while also giving you a classic signature style.
Everyone Else
Your particular features may not fit into one of those categories, and in that case just pull suggestions from each category that do apply to you. That way you can customize these general insights to find a hand that complements you based on unique personal proportions.
That’s the way to get a perfect hat that will not just look good on a shelf or hat rack, but will, more importantly, look and feel great on your head.
