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Dec 27, 2023

Summer hats provide stylish sun protection

By this point in the summer, you and your favorite SPF have no doubt become fast friends again. But there’s another often-overlooked tool in your kit for enjoying the sun while fending off skin

By this point in the summer, you and your favorite SPF have no doubt become fast friends again.

But there’s another often-overlooked tool in your kit for enjoying the sun while fending off skin damage, and it’s one of the most fashionable out there: sun hats. Just think of everything they do — coordinate with outfits; make big style statements, and do a great job of covering your neck and face.

There are so, so many styles to choose from. The fedoras! The wide-brimmed straw numbers! The bucket hats and cowboy hats, and refined safari hats! They add a certain je ne sais quoi flourish to almost any casual look — from bathing suits and sundresses to maxi dresses and denim — with minimum effort. Check out these numbers:

The Wide-brim Packable Straw Hat ($69.50 on jcrew.com), woven from raffia fiber that springs back after you’ve rolled it up and tucked it into your beach bag. But its best feature is how good it looks once you put it on; it boasts a light weave and medium brim, with a dark black band that gives it — and your outfit — a nice definition.

On the ever-so-slightly fancier end of things sits the Woven Palm Sun Hat ($78 on anthropologie.com). With a hint of “My Fair Lady” to it, it sports an asymmetrical shape and a pretty black bow around its wide brim. I love its natural and sustainable palm fibers, too, which are hand-woven and water resistant.

On those days when your look needs a little lightening up, reach for the Harbor Hat ($149 on shopbop.com) by Hat Attack. Woven of cream-colored raffia and trimmed in a thin pale pink leather band, it has a chic little pinched crown and a fun floppy rim — all of which makes for a casual silhouette that’s still pretty and somewhat ethereal.

On the bucket hat front, the best kind is the one that doesn’t give you hat head, such as the Silk-lined Bucket Hat ($55 on damngina.com). Its exterior is constructed of organic cotton, while its inner lining is made of moisture-wicking mulberry silk, so frizz and hair-matting sweat aren’t a factor.

On the high-end of the spectrum sits Isabel Marant’s Tulum Striped Woven Raffia Hat ($585 on net-a-porter.com). It’s undeniably a splurge, but also undeniably chic and a scene-stealer. Add it to almost any outfit, and it instantly elevates the situation with its rainbow hues of periwinkle blue iced with chocolate brown, tan, cream, ochre, and gold. I love the wide brim, too. Worn with jeans or a sundress? It simply can’t miss.

I love the cut of a classic topper like the Straw Fedora ($82 on gigipip.com). It boasts a casually elegant, 10-centimeter and is lightweight enough that always feels comfy. The cream color sets off anything and everything else you’ve got on, and is so face flattering, you won’t want to take it off — even when you’re not in the sun.

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