How To Choose Hats That Will Best Suit Your Face Shape...

With so many fabulous styles of hat in the world, it can be hard to choose just one. From berets to boaters to bowlers, the products of bespoke millinery have so much to offer – and we, personally, are firm fans of them all. 

There’s one question we get asked often lately though, and that’s how exactly to know which hats will suit you when shopping from home. If you’re struggling to find something you feel confident will look as good on you as it does on-screen, then we’re here to help. 

While we’d always encourage you to go with the pieces you feel an immediate love for, we’ve developed a more methodical approach to knowing which styles will suit you best – all without even trying one on!

Here, we have the Jess Collett Milliner guide to finding your next favourite hat, pointing you in the right direction by consulting the science of flattering your face shape. So, why not test these handy hat pairing tips to find your face’s perfect match?

 

The Romantic Heart Face

The heart shaped face is one that’s typically smaller at the jawline than the forehead. This romantic shape suits narrower, close to the face silhouettes and there’s a number of styles that suit these needs well. Traditional cloche hats look great, alongside baker boy and flat caps worn at jaunty angles. Trilbies, with small to medium brims suit this shape too.

As we look forward to the fast approaching spring, the well favoured bucket hat will also be making a come back. Elevate your style by pairing one of these with a statement dress for a chic spring time look.

Jess’ pick: Stylish season after season, JCM’s The Jackson Trilby in Emerald would be a brilliant choice. Never afraid to shy away from colourful craftsmanship, this is the prefect new piece for your hat collection.

 

The Angular Square Face

Those with square shaped faces are known for their excellent jawlines and angular features. For this face shape you’ll suit softer shapes to balance out those sharper angles. Square shapers should look for berets, bowlers and soft caps specifically.

You’ll want to hunt for hats that feature round crowns with circular brims, especially ones you can tip backwards for a more face-framing effect. Another handy hack is to look for hats with a crown that measures wider than the width of your temples (and you can thank us for this milliner’s secret later, if you’d like!).

Jess’ pick: The square shape face would really flatter the rounded curves of our Gigi Beret in Mottled Pink. (change to in stock hat) Worn with a detachable pom pom in your choice of colour, this soft-toned yet stunning piece is perfect for the everyday.

 

The Versatile Oval Face

Some would say the luckiest of the hat loving bunch, the oval shaped face is perfectly versatile when it comes to finding flattering headwear. Longer than it is wide, we’d suggest trying a variety of designs. Jess herself has an oval face, and believes this may very well be the cause of how she came to love and wear hats so often.

The most easily adaptable of all the shapes, Spring makes for the perfect season to start experimenting – and experiment, we hope you will. Why not try some on-trend wide brimmed designs, perfect for sheltering from the (soon to arrive) sun.

Jess’ pick: Just like Jess, those of you with an oval face will absolutely suit our Rainbow Zig-Zag Fedora. Fun, fabulous and packed full of the joyous Spring vibes we’ve long been craving, this handmade piece packs a beautiful punch.

 

The Shapely Round Face

The round face shape has soft and curved lines. To contrast the softness of this face shape, you’ll want to find hats featuring sharp lines to balance out the curves. 

You may want to avoid round shapes like domed crowns and move more towards crisp lines and asymmetric styles. Hats that can be worn slanted are brilliant – think a jaunty beret, a cap, a signature cocktail hat for occasion wear and a variety of small brimmed pieces for everyday. 

Jess’ pick: If you’re looking for something that feels lively yet lovable, look no further than our Bobby Beret. Where day-to-day dressing meets upmarket luxury, you’ll feel just as in tune with London city’s style as you will Parisian in this stylish piece.

 

The Open Oblong Face

The oblong shapers among us will have a forehead and jawbone of similar size, with longer sides. Better suited to larger silhouettes, searching for styles with low crowns and wide brims will ensure you find your face’s new best friend. 

A top tip of ours is to never go wider with the width of your brim than the span of your shoulders, so your hats still look proportionate on you. Try some large brimmed fedoras and beautiful boaters, worn at a perky angle for some extra glamour at weddings and Ascot, whenever we can go again! 

 

Jess’ pick: We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention another of our gorgeous staple pieces – The Hometown Trilby in Mink, with velvet headband. Made to take you from in-person events to Zoom parties at home, it’s the perfect transitional piece to serve your wardrobe well through Winter to Spring.

 

Have You Tried The World Traveller?

Despite all this advice, we do have one hat that surpasses these rules and suits everyone; The World Traveller! This hat Is a wanderlust-inspiring, foldable, SPF-certified best seller.

Designed with Spring and Summer days in mind, these travel hats provide natural sun protection while making a gorgeous style statement. Carved with a classic panama shape, our World Travellers are so well proportioned they look good on us all. With thirty different designs of these packable hats hand crafted for you, you’ll be sure to find one (or two, or three) that work fantastically for the months to come. 

Hopefully you’ll have found our handy hats tips helpful, and will now be well on your way to finding a favourite style of hat. 

 

Don’t forget that wearing hats is supposed to be about having fun and dressing up. So, if you see a hat in your travels that calls your name, forget my suggestions and try them on anyway! Who knows, it may just leave you feeling the absolute business once it’s on.

 

Author: © Scarlett Hatchwell


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