FINDING THE RIGHT FIT

Fit your Personality:

The BEST FIT, the one tHAT is HEAD and heels above the rest, is the one tHAT fits your personality!  "It is you who wears the hat, not the hat tHAT wears you!" tHAT said:

Find your hat size: measure around your head where a hat would sit (normally about 1/2"-1" above the eyebrows and ears).  Hold the tape measure comfortably, as you would like a hat to fit (most measuring errors occur by applying the tape too tightly).  If you do not have a flexible tape measure, a piece of string or ribbon (non stretchy) can be held around the head, then measured on a yardstick. 

If your measurement puts you exactly between two sizes, it is generally better to select the larger of the two.  It is easier to adjust the fit of a slightly loose hat then it is to stretch a too tight hat.

Leave your hat on for at least 5 minutes: If you feel pressure, it is too small. If it slips or shifts when you turn your head side to side, it is too large. If you don't jam your hat against your scalp, it won't flatten your hair. A hat should have at least a 4" brim to shade your eyes as well as your skin.

Follow this rule of thumb: If you can slide an index finger between your head and the hat, it fits correctly.

Small head size:

• Find a place tHAT caters to Ladies who have undergone chemotherapy (often a hospital gift shop).  They are particularly sensitive to the need for hats with small crowns.  An extra bonus: these hats often have big brims to protect from the sun.
• Go to a Department store and look for hats with adjustable bands.  Some designers build them right into the brim

Big head size:

• The inner hat band can often be carefully cut out, giving you precious inches.
• There are designers, such as Kathi Harris, www.hat-a-tude.com, who tend to make the crowns bigger and/or put a type of drawstring in the crown, such as Helen Kaminsk, www.helenkaminski.com.  These hats tend to be found at upper scale stores.   They can also be found on the web
• Many of the milliners listed under Links on this website customize hat

Whether your hat is small or big, like the song, "There's a hat for you, somewhere a hat for you."  Of course, when you find it, keep contacting the designer for more!