Hats

[bookkeep]

I like hats. I have several nice hats. However, I like FUNCTIONAL hats. What kind of hat should I get, and from whence should I get it? I'm thinking one of those conical Asian-type numbers. I find under-hat sweltering to be something of a pet peeve. Anyone have experience on hats that stay cool underneath and still keep the damned sun off the eyes? Even better, without blowing the hell away?

[catinthefunnyhat]

These are huge issues for me, too.

Blowing away: The best strategy against is almost certainly a chinstrap. But I hate having anything touching me under my chin; it makes me feel like I'm choking. So I'm trying to work on some different strategies this year.

My wide-brimmed hat has a band of ribbon sewn around the inside. Normally, it sits upwards, so it's totally tucked in. I noticed that pulling it down around my head gives a much tighter fit. I've decided to enhance that (and also make it less ugly) by sewing a long length of fabric to that band. This piece is about 4 inches wide and 4 feet long. The extra length hangs down evenly at both ends, at the back of the hat. This has a few different functions. First, the additional width will help the band to stay down against my forehead and increase its contact with my skin, for extra "grab". The additional length gives me some tying options: I can wrap it twice around my head and tie it in a bow at the back, allowing it to be tightened even further; I'm hoping this will be enough for ambient wind. Alternately, I can tie it at my throat; the angle it sits at, it shouldn't feel to chokey unless the hat actually comes off my head. Finally, I can put it under my arms and tie it at the back. This way, there's no chokey feeling, and if the hat flies off, it ends up on my back like a knapsack.

There's also the bonnet strategy: Tie your hat onto your head using a scarf. The scarf goes over the hat and ties under the chin.

Finally, if you have long, thick hair, a hatpin might work for you. I'm considering trying it, but my hair is only marginally long and not thick at all, so I'm thinking it's a pipe dream.


Sweatiness/hotness: Gah! This is possibly an even more intractable problem. I think you're right about the cone-shaped hat. Tall ones (think of a classical wizard's hat) would be good, too, because there's plenty of airspace up there. Definitely, wicker or something else with holes/mesh/vents so that air can pass through will help a lot. But I find that even with a hat that's tall and venty, if it's to grab the head at all, there'll be a band where it fits tightly, and there you will sweat. (And thus, my big-piece-of-fabric solution to the other problem has a major drawback.... more band = more sweat).

If you google "Yemen desert hat," you'll find lots of pictures of women wearing hats like this:

They're apparently excellent at keeping the wearer's head cool, due to the wicker and the extreme tallness. Also, they're beautiful. The whole outfit is gorgeous.
Again, though, there's the problem of securing it. I couldn't find any pictures that showed how they were doing this. Being desert people who do physical labour, they must have a way of keeping these hats on in the wind!

[AntiM]

MyLarry cinches down his chinstrap at the back of his head. We both wear Breezer-brand style fishing hats, they have mesh around your head with a solid crown and brim. Great for pins and badges. (That's not MyLarry, that's Jonathan, a virgin from France, a hot virgin from France. With a broken leg. I fell in love a little that afternoon).

[catinthefunnyhat]

That is a beautiful photo! Wow!

[AntiM]

Done in Center Camp by a professional. He's doing a book. I'll dig up the link.

[Elorrum]

I use paracord with a toggle chin strap on all my hats...cut holes in the hats, or tied the cord where it would attach. I've got a couple cowboy hats, a pith helmet, a plastic constuction hard hat. The cord never bothered me, but it is one more thing... the sunglasses cord, all the schwag neclace cords etc. You have to develop a method for removing hats and glasses without getting tied in knots. Those toggles and cord make a nice gift too, when someone is losing a hat.

[Ratty]

Where to get your favorite hat? Berkeley Hat of course. (They have a great online store if you don't live in the Bay Area.) Small retail store but a big selection. Burner friendly. Up until last year they sold BM tickets retail. I got a killer crown there and a sock monkey beanie.

[Oldguy]

I like those Aussie style beachcomber straw hats with the very wide brim and tall crown. I got one a few years ago at the San Diego wild animal park. Two hole leather keeper on cord, easier to use than plastic shit which breaks; just hold end of loop and pull keeper to chin. Easy to replace keeper by cutting off tip of old belt and punching or burning 2 small holes with small nail. Easy to punch 2 holes in any hat at headband and put chinstrap on it. I once made a rubber skull cap by cutting it to fit my head and turning it inside out. Very stylish and use-full on cold desert nights. I think girl's swimming caps under a conch hat would work. Or is that cloche' ?

[theCryptofishist]

I want one of those hats that an elephant can eat and shit out undamaged.


I have no intention of feeding hats to elephants...

[Eric]

For daytime, when there is usually more wind, I wear either a keffiyeh (Arabic head-scarf), which also doubles as a fantastic dust mask if needed, or a simple cap (granted, my simple cap is in a military style with a hammer & sickle pin on it); for night time I wear a variety of hats: top hats, Bavarian hiking hats, fedoras... less wind, less worry.

Your main concern is wind & sun during the day, keeping warm at night.

[Bob]

Whatever sort of hat you use hiking.

Though after a couple of days you could probably shape your hair into a fedora.

[catinthefunnyhat]

OK, here's my silly sunflower sunhat. I didn't feel like modelling this morning, so I enlisted my teakettle and a self-portrait to help out.

The yellow fabric is sewn to the inner band of the hat, and the ends of it hang at the back. I can wrap it tightly around my head a couple of times to help secure the hat; in a stronger wing, I can tie them under my chin. The veil is sewn to the brim of the hat, on the top, near where it connects to the crown. I'll mostly wear it down (first pic), to provide a bit of extra sun protection for my shoulders and also to for my eyes when I'm wearing my goggles (they're un-tinted prescription goggles). When I'm in the shade or want better eye contact, I can flip the veil back over my head (second pic). In a dust storm, I can tie it at the back so that it tightly covers my face (it's silk, so despite being insanely sheer, it's actually very tightly woven. But, yes; I'll also have a dust mask) (third pic)

sunflower hat veil down.jpg

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[catinthefunnyhat]

And here's a warm hat for cold nights. I just bought this at the thrift store last night. I added the band and the (purely decorative, in this case) veil at the back, both of which I made out of fabric scraps I had on hand. The white whiskers you see at the back are fibre-optic hair clips; when turned on, they'll glow red (helping me not to be a darkwad). This hat fits snugly and does not have a wind-catching brim. Although you can't see it, it's also got a fleece flap-thingy that cradles the back of my head down to the nape and comes forward as far as the ears. This adds a lot of warmth and will help it to stay on my head in the wind. I don't think I need to add a chinstrap.

[AntiM]

Nighttime is less windy. Usually. I don't wear chinstrap hats at night.

[theCryptofishist]

I don't wear sun hats at night...

[lucky420]

I wear my sunglasses at night...

[misfit]

booney hats work well on playa. can be found at army surplus for under $20. .

[Mekishiko]

Fur! Warm at night which is my main concern, keep wind out my ears, and hair clean.

www.doriumlux.etsy.com

[inthecolumbiagorge]

Love the hats cat! Absolutely super!

[Jackass]

Wool? fedora at night

fedora.jpg

[catinthefunnyhat]

Love the hats cat! Absolutely super!

Thanks, columbiagorge

I modified the warm/night one a bit. I put red ribbon along the top and back edges of the band, topstitched in red around the bottom of it, and put red ribbon along the bottom of the veils. I also repositioned the glowy things so they hang down with the veil. They don't show up well here in daylight, but they glow nice and brightly at night. (Here you can just make out little red bits... those are the tips of them). I'm nodelling it here with my black velvet cape.

night hat clean mirror close far small.jpg

My partner thinks my ePlaya name should be catinthefancyhat, since none of my current BM hats are particularly funny, especially not in the BM context. I shall have to rectify that by making at least one funny one.