Sunhats- why aren’t these worn more?

[Strawblue]

I’m curious as to why more people don’t wear sunhats given the extreme heat we’ve been getting over the years, and messages about covering up due to the risk of sunburn and melanoma etc? Even the days when it was 41 deg for two days a few weeks ago absolutely no parents were wearing hats at pick-up (many walk to/from school too).

I walk everywhere as I can’t drive and I get boiling hot. I bought a sunhat (like a straw one) last summer and rarely wear it outside of our garden as I feel so self-conscious that you don’t often seen them worn off a beach.

I wondered why people don’t wear them? Obviously this is a question for people who are out in the sun a lot and not those who go everywhere by car so are protected more.

Is it you don’t like hats, ‘hat hair,’ not fashionable, feel you don’t suit them, etc,? I want to wear my hat but feel such an idiot because most people don’t wear one when out walking. FIL says I should do as I like and stop worrying what other people think but I’ve been been able to be fashionable and feel like people are staring at me thinking I look like an idiot!

I got a brilliant one online - it’s like the ones that Japanese women were (wider brim at the front) and the top bit zips up and there’s a detachable ‘scarf’ at the back that you can dangle down, tie around your pony tale or take off and wear like a bandana. It’s soft so can be rolled up.

its a lifesaver in this sun.

I absolutely detest wearing hats! But have started wearing them when out with DC as a way to encourage them to wear them. I do feel better for wearing them tbh. My DC have ginger hair and with the stereotypical fair skin, so I'm very strict on them wearing one which means I have to be wearing one too to make the point stick 😂

DH bought me a massive red and beige striped straw one sevwral years ago after i burned my scalp, I never used to wear it on the school run but lately I care less about standing out, also, it's great for avoiding eye contact with people (if you're that way inclined). I wear it a lot.

I love hats but it’s hard to find a good one that doesn’t blow off my head or flop down.

I have a couple that I love but they don't stay on well if it's breezy and I don't want to lose them.

Actually my sun visor one stays on best. I wore it on a day out recently and it was ace.

Mainly tho I just stay in the shade as much as possible.

Bring back parasols! ☂

Well that sounds perfect. Where did you get it from? OP I have a couple of straw hats, one foldable one from Muji, and I don’t think people bat an eyelid. I’m not roasting or risking sunstroke in this heat, I wear them when out and about with DC including on school run.

The where did you get it question was directed @KittenKong re scarf hat. Reply fail.

When it's hot, hats make my head hotter.

That's why I've never worn them even from childhood. My parents constantly struggled to get a hat on me, even when I was very small

I tried to get one for holiday this morning as I can't keep wearing my husband's cap and there are none in the high street shops in my town. Plenty of beanies and a felt beret in TKMaxx!

Any recommendations on somewhere to buy a nice, large brimmed non floppy one would be appreciated.

Something like this?

I wonder sometimes if I have a ridiculously huge head. The selection I've seen in the shops aren't great tbh, but maybe I haven't looked hard enough. I have a white straw one which has seen better days and a couple of cotton ones. If I'm in the sun I usually have one on because I have fine hair and a sunburnt scalp is horrible.

I'm outside a lot but don't wear a hat very often, I struggle to get my hair up properly with a hat on so then end up having to leave it down which makes me neck sweaty. And I've yet to find a hat that actually stays on my head if I'm doing anything more than just sunbathing. I did try and buy a baseball cap this year but couldn't find one that fitted, I think I must have an unusually small head. Hats also make my head really hot and itchy

I have a visor one with open top to protect my face which I wear a lot, I have really thick, long hair - I need to have it up in the summer it's just too hot to wear down so I need hats that enable a bun

They mostly look ridiculous on me, and I tend to have my hair up in a bun so most of them don’t fit over my hair.

I have been thinking the same recently. I bought a straw hat 👒 this summer and I love it. I can read my book outside. I'm getting less conscious the more I wear it.

*self conscious

I get too hot in a hat and have lots of blonde hair which protects my scalp anyway. I do love a hat though and will quite happily wear one if it's not so hot or too windy.
Your FIL is right; wear what you like! No-one will be interested in your hat or lack of hat.

I have a big head and hats on the high street never fit me. I can wear a baseball cap but I get unbearably sweaty. I have a UV umbrella for when I need shade though.

That is awful. Surely not?! 😂

I don’t mind a hat abroad but don’t wear one in the U.K. like a few people have said, it’s hard to find one that you can wear with your hair up and off your neck.

I wear one, but I don't see many other women wearing them.
People don't seem to cover up either, lots of bare arms and legs.

I made my own hat, so it's big enough I can have my hair up underneath.
I don't know why there aren't more sizes available in shops?

Can't be in the full sun without a hat for more than a few minutes as makes me feel grotty. Try garden centres as that's where I bought my last two.

One of the first things we did when we went to Greece one year was after breakfast popped to the local supermarket and picked up the sort of hat you’re after. Lots of choice and no more expensive than here.
It’s still called ‘my Rhodes sunhat’.

Excellent question.

I really want to keep the sun off my face & am struggling to make it work.

When active i wear a baseball cap & that's quite straightforward. It goes over a ponytail and can get stuffed in a rucksack.

I have a beautiful straw one from monsoon a few years ago. So elegant but what a faff to transport it.

I always wear a sun hat or a visor when it’s sunny in late spring/summer. And you’re right I don’t see many other people wearing them and sometimes feel a bit self-conscious and that people think I’m being over cautious in the sun. But I burn very quickly and also get heat rash so just want to avoid having a big red face!

I think people just don’t bother buying sun hats as it felt like we used to have relatively few sunny days in the UK so maybe people didn’t see the point in them? And I think that will change as summers get hotter - already this year I’ve seen more people with hats.