woman wearing hat

It’s easy to have fun with hats and hairstyles these days, especially as cooler weather rolls in, but sometimes finding a hat that flatters your face is a little bit challenging. If you’ve struggled with finding a hat that looks great with your face shape, the following tips may be just what you need.

One: Measure Your Head

A lot of people make the mistake of plopping one women’s hats without giving much thought to size. The first step in looking great in a hat is making sure it fits right. Begin at the center of your forehead and measure the circumference (staying about an inch above your ears.) You’ll probably fall between 21 ½ inches and 23 ½ inches. If the hat you’re considering doesn’t offer these measurements, the number can still help you decide where you fit in the small, medium, and large categories.

Two: Identify the Shape of Your Face

Hairstylists, makeup artists, and other style professionals offer the following tips for determining the shape of your face:

  • Identify the widest part of your face. If you have a wide forehead, you could have an oval face. Wide cheekbones typically indicate a round face, and a wide jawline points to a square face shape.
  • Determine the shape of your jaw. If you have a rounded jaw and a short face (length is similar to width,) you have a round face. If the length is longer than the width, you have an oval face. A strong, square jawline supports a square face unless your chin is a bit pointy. If the latter is true, you have a heart-shaped face.
  • Finally, compare the length of your face with the width. As you’ve noticed in the first two steps, if you have a short face, it’s probably round. A long face generally means an oval shape. In either case, a pointed jaw signals a heart shape.

The good news is that there are cute hats for women that are flattering for each of these shapes.

Follow Expert Recommendations

With this information, you can turn to the experts for more advice. You may get great suggestions, such as embracing a large brim if you have an oval-shaped face, and you have enough height to carry it off. Round faces tend to do better with high crowns that provide balance to the shape of your face. If you have a heart-shaped face, choose hats with narrower brims.