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How to Style a Cowboy Hat You Just Bought So you finally bought the hat. Now it's sitting on your dresser and you're wondering if you can actually pull ...
So you finally bought the hat. Now it's sitting on your dresser and you're wondering if you can actually pull it off without feeling like you're in a costume. This one's for you, and here's the short version: wear it with clothes you already own, keep everything else simple, and let the hat do the talking.
Before you take that hat anywhere, put it on and go about your morning in it. Make coffee. Check your phone. Look in the mirror a few times without trying to pose. The single biggest reason people feel weird in a new hat is that it's brand new to them, not because it looks bad. Give it a day or two of low stakes wear and it stops feeling like a prop and starts feeling like yours.
While you're at it, get the fit right. The hat should sit level, resting about a finger width above your eyebrows, and it should stay put when you tip your head down without squeezing your temples. Too loose and you'll spend the whole night pushing it back up. Too tight and you'll have a headache by dinner. If it's a felt hat, you can shape the brim a little with your hands over time to get it sitting the way you like.
The mistake I see most often is people buying the hat, then reaching for their most western everything else. Fringe top, concho belt, tooled bag, turquoise everywhere, and the hat on top of all of it. That's a lot. The hat is already a statement, so let the rest of the outfit hang back.
My favorite way to break in a new hat is with a white tee, straight leg jeans, and boots. That's it. When the outfit underneath is quiet, the hat reads as intentional instead of loud. Once you've worn it that way a couple of times and you feel good, you can start adding pieces back in. But start plain. You'll trust the hat more when you're not competing with your own outfit.
A straw hat works beautifully with a sundress this time of year too. Throw one on with a flowy midi dress and sandals and you've got something that works for brunch at the Snake River or an evening walk when it finally cools off. Summer is exactly when a straw hat earns its keep, so don't save it for special occasions.
Straw and felt aren't interchangeable, and knowing the difference will save you from looking out of place. Straw is a warm weather hat. It breathes, it's light, and it belongs at outdoor summer stuff... country concerts, fairs, backyard get togethers, anything under the sun. Felt is your cooler weather hat. It's heavier, it holds shape, and it dresses up nicely for a fall wedding or a night out when the weather turns.
Right now in the middle of July, reach for straw. When the leaves start turning and the mornings get crisp around here, that's your cue to switch to felt. You don't need both immediately, but if you're building a small collection over time, one of each covers you year round.
Loose waves or a low ponytail almost always beat a slick high bun under a hat. When your hair sits down and back, the hat has room to sit right and your face stays open. A high bun fights the crown and pushes everything forward.
Two easy moves that always look good: hair down and loose with the ends showing past the brim, or braids. A single braid or two down the sides reads effortless and keeps hair out of your face at an outdoor concert when it's hot. If your hair's short, even better. You don't have to do anything at all.
A neutral hat goes with everything, which is why tan, cream, and brown are the easiest first hats to own. If your new one is a neutral, you're set. It'll pull double duty with denim, dresses, and just about any top in your closet.
If you went bold with a black hat or a colored one, just repeat the color somewhere lower in the outfit so it looks connected. A black hat with black boots. A rust colored hat with an earthy top. You don't need a perfect match, you just need the hat to feel like it belongs to the rest of you and not like it landed there by accident.
Here's the honest truth about styling a cowboy hat: confidence does more than any styling tip I can give you. The women who look best in a hat aren't the ones with the most expensive outfit. They're the ones who put it on and quit fussing with it. Set it once, then leave it alone. If you keep reaching up to adjust it all night, everyone reads that as uncertainty. Let it sit.
And take care of the thing so it lasts. Handle it by the brim, not the crown, so you don't crush the shape. Store it upside down on its crown or on a hat rack, never flat on the brim. Keep it out of a hot car, since heat warps the shape over time. If you got caught in summer rain, let it air dry on a towel away from direct heat. A little upkeep and a good hat will be with you for years.
The sun does a number on more than your hat, too, so if you're wearing it to an all day outdoor event, remember the sun safety basics still apply even under a wide brim. A hat helps, but it isn't sunscreen.
Buy the hat you love, wear it plain until it feels like yours, and then build out from there. That's really all there is to it.