How to Choose the Right Hat for Your Face Shape

Picking a hat should be fun, but most people grab whatever looks good on the hanger and then wonder why it does not look quite right once they put it on. The secret is simple. Different hat styles work better with different face shapes, and once you know yours, shopping for hats becomes a whole lot easier.

First, figure out your face shape. Stand in front of a mirror and look at the outline of your face. Most people fall into one of these five categories: oval, round, square, heart, or oblong. If you are not sure, trace the outline of your face on a mirror with a bar of soap or lipstick and step back to look at the shape.

Oval Face

Oval faces are the most balanced and work well with almost every hat style out there. Wide brim hats, bucket hats, fedoras, and visors all sit naturally well on an oval face. If you have an oval face, your biggest challenge is just picking your favorite.

Round Face

Round faces have soft edges and similar width and length measurements. The goal here is to add some height and length to balance things out. Hats with a higher crown work really well, and wide brim hats that dip slightly at the front help create the illusion of a longer face. Avoid bucket hats that sit too low as they can make a round face look shorter.

Square Face

Square faces have a strong jawline and a wide forehead that are roughly the same width. Soft, rounded hat shapes work best here because they contrast nicely with the sharpness of the face. Floppy wide brim hats and round crown bucket hats are great choices. Hard structured hats with very flat brims tend to make a square face look more angular than it already is.

Heart Face

Heart shaped faces are wider at the forehead and narrow down toward the chin. The goal is to balance the top and bottom of the face, so hats with a medium brim that sits just above the forehead work well. Wide brim sun hats and floppy straw hats look great on heart shaped faces because the brim draws the eye outward and downward, balancing the wider forehead.

Oblong Face

Oblong faces are longer than they are wide, with a forehead, cheekbones, and jaw that are all similar in width. The goal here is to add width rather than height. Wide brim hats are a great choice, but avoid tall crown styles as they make the face look even longer. Bucket hats and sun visors work particularly well because they add width on the sides without adding any extra height.

Always try a hat on before deciding it does not work for you. Fit, angle, and how far down you wear it all make a big difference in how a hat looks on your face. Tilt it slightly to the side, push it back a little, and see what works. Sometimes the smallest adjustment changes everything.

The right hat is out there for every face shape. Now that you know yours, finding it just got a whole lot easier.