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 wear one abroad or in the garden but not walking about in the UK. I live in the North, it's rarely that hot. I have a small head so its hard to find one that fits and I don't suit hats. I do have a straw visor that has a tight headband fitting and that's great at shading my face. I have very thick hair that isn't dyed. I have never had a burnt scalp as the sun doesn't get through my hair. I hate having a hot head and ever wear a hat in winter.

I've bought two from this place (DD borrowed the first and it never came back!) They have an adjustable drawstring band inside so you can make them fit easily.
www.hatsandcaps.co.uk/collections/sur-la-tete-hats

Because having my head covered makes me even hotter.

I love my sun hat.

I used to think that hats don’t suit me but then realised that I don’t actually care.

I wear a wide brimmed straw hat. I dislike this hot weather and it makes it so much bearable. I have thick curly hair and have no issues getting one to fit. The one I got a few years ago came in three sizes.

I thought the same as you, but I have seen a few other people wear them over the past couple of days. I wouldn’t care if I was the only one though.

So much more bearable.

Hats look ok with dresses but you look like a numpty if you wear them with shirt and trousers. And they do ruin your hair which is a pain. I don’t wear one for the five minutes it takes to run from the car park to school, or from the car to a shop. I do wear one if I’m going to be outside for any length of time. But my preferred option is to avoid being outside.

i tried a couple on in an NT shop but i didnt like the look
i do need one
although i am not a hat wearer, current climate makes me change my mind

Hardly any hats around here.
I only wear mine on holiday to protect my hair.
It was exhausting finding a straw hat that I liked and that suited me. It nearly has its own seat on the plane when we travel and I have to carry it around because it doesn't fit in any suitcase.
It's actually not that comfortable to wear and I live in fear of loosing it - I can't bear the thought of going through the painful process of choosing a replacement.

I saw some ladies doing their early morning power walk with lightweight gloves on - very sensible I thought!

I buy sun hats from a website called Village Hats. I have a stupidly small head but a lot of their hats come in different sizes.

I always wear a hat these days, I got heatstroke just going for a walk on a hot day and had a seizure. And just like that my driving licence was gone for 18 months and all the fall out to my daily life that entailed. I am never risking that again, I have a wide brimmed cotton hat (in a small size!) and another specific factor 50 one from an, Australian company and I take them everywhere.

My experience of wide brimmed hats has been that they are prone to blowing off in the southeast breeze.

A Panama? Assuming you’re wearing summer weight business wear it should be fine.

or a trilby might work?

I've been looking for a sun hat this year but just can't give anything I like and that fits. There didn't seem to be many straw hats around, especially I think because we've lost our Monsoon and Accessorize. I must have a big head because a lot of hats seem to perch on top of it and look silly.

The non-straw wide-brimmed hats make me look like an old lady, and while I don't care what other people think especially, I'd rather not look 80 when I'm 40 😂 I suppose I could look online but I can't be faffed with ordering and sending back.

Panamas come in lots of sizes, we've got a local hat shop which has a huge stack of them in different sizes. They look good too. But they blow off in the slightest breeze so I hardly ever wear mine. Also the usual problems of nowhere to flip sunglasses when you want to talk to someone, go in a shop etc, sweaty forehead and limited hair up options.

I can't wear wooly, warm hats in the winter, as they make my head itch. I have a couple.of summer hats, but they are hard to find as I have a small head, and suit a fedora type shape the best. I haven't been able to find one that fits me. They do wreck my hair though!

I’ve always had a sunhat!
My current one is floppy, multicoloured, cotton, keeps the sun off my face and the flare fo over the top of my sunglasses, folds nicely in my bag, and washes well.
It makes me look like a deranged seaside donkey, but it does the job and I love it. It does look rather ridiculous, but makes others smile, rather than sneer.
£5 off the market a few years back.

Just bought a second sun hat thanks to this retread. Navy cotton wide brim.

I forgot to say that the hat I have, and use for gardening, is a Marks and Spencer bucket hat in cotton. I bought it last year and it was available in lots of colours and possibly two sizes.

Those of you who have big heads, try a visor. I got a straw one this year and it fits well and looks fine.

Like this one, it sort of grips onto the head, but you can get ones that tie at the back.

I wear a sun hat everywhere. I'm pale as ivory and don't care for a tan. I think they look classy!

I"ve had success most summers with straw sunhats from H&M - like a panama or trilby shape with wider brim - lots of holes/lightweight and not solid. And they are under £10 so i don't worry too much about taking them on holiday/suncream stains inside/getting misshapen when kids play with them etc.
Other Stories do some good ones too

As an aside, I saw a lady with a white parasol the other day.
I was envious as it was so hot.
Walking in the shade all the time....

I wear a vintage Laura Ashley sunhat in pink straw as well as high factor sun cream. I burn very easily and cannot sit out in the sun.