Wedding Hats: The way to do it

The hat you choose has to work quite hard: it must be the right shape for your face, your body type, your outfit and your hairstyle. This can feel like tall order but it is achievable. Here’s how…

Hats: the way to do it

If you’ve decided wear a hat to top off your party finery, our guide will steer you safely through the maze of the millinery department. Hats for weddings must work quite hard: it must be the right shape for your face, your body type, your outfit and your hairstyle. This can feel like tall order but it is achievable. Here’s how…

1. Take your time

When shopping for wedding hats, allow yourself a good hour for trying on different styles. As you get used to seeing yourself in a hat the easier it will be to work out which styles suit you best.

2. Team it up right

Always choose your hat to match your outfit and not the other way around. A hat should complement your outfit, not overpower it. If your outfit is fairly dressy, then opt for a simple hat ‐‐ and vice versa.

Your hat or headpiece should complement your entire outfit. Do remember, however, to match your shoes with your handbag ‐‐ when your hat comes off, your shoes may otherwise look lost on with your outfit. As a rule, think, light straw fabrics for spring/summer; felts and fabrics should be kept for autumn/winter.

3. Get the shape right

Never buy a hat simply because it’s the right colour. What you’re looking for is a hat shape to complement the shape of your face.

Tall crowned hats suit round faces, while snugger styles provide a frame for longer faces. Rounded crowns suit just about every face, while square crowns work for larger heads. As a rule the crown of your hat should never be narrower than your cheekbones.

Women with wide set eyes can wear almost any hat, but others look best in a hat with brim worn low to the brow.

4. Finding the right fit

As with your gloves and shoes, the right hat is all about fit. When trying on hats, position it in the centre of your head so that it is covering up half of your forehead. An all‐to‐common mistake is to sit your hat too far back on the crown of your head or perched on the top of your head. Pull it down low and wear it with confidence. And don’t be shy to walk around the shop wearing it to get a sense of how it feels.

5. Wedding hats to enhance your look

Want to add inches to your height without wearing heels? If you’re small you can use a hat to give the impression of extra height.

A headpiece with a bit of height can also make you look taller. And simply wearing a hat that matches the colour of the top part of your outfit can give the illusion of a longer profile.

Do bear in mind that, generally speaking, large hats tend to swamp petite frames and smaller hats are lost on larger frames.

6. Don’t forget your personality

When choosing a hat, don’t forget to factor in your personality. If you allow your hat to be an expression of who you are then you may be able to get away with breaking all the rules.