All You Wanted To Know and More About Cowboy Hats

Those who are western at heart will identify with the sense of adventure and romance associated with cowboys. If you love the freedom of the rolling prairies and the sound of thundering hooves, you will have some cowboy accessories like cowboy boots, hats, and kerchiefs in your wardrobe. The wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat is among the most distinctive and iconic features of cowboys, according to National Cowboy Museum. However, even as real cowboys are a vanishing breed, they live on in contemporary society as fashion icons. You can always find a good reason to wear a cowboy hat if you are engaged in outdoor work or leisure.

Different Types of Cowboy Hats

Cowboy hats come in a limited assortment of materials. Originally made of leather and felt, people who prefer lightweight and breathable materials have increasingly taken to straw. If you want more than one cowboy hat, you can choose a straw one for the blistering summers, while a felt hat would be ideal to keep the chill at bay during winter. Some of the most popular types of cowboy hats:

Straw hats: Straw is a traditional material available in plenty to every society since times immemorial. Among the myriad uses of straw, hats are among the most popular across the world. The easily available material became a staple for making hats during the heydays of the Wild West to counter the sweltering heat of the desert. While the straw hats worn by the cowboys were strictly utilitarian, you can choose a more casual style with a loose weave and a floppy brim to add sizzle to your personality. For the more discerning, there are straw cowboy hats with an impeccable tight weave, intricate detailing, and sealing to protect them from the elements and ensure that they don’t lose shape.

Felt hats: Felt was a popular material for cowboy hats because of its versatility. It acted to protect the cowboys from the blazing desert sun during the day, absorbed sweat well and dried fast. It also served to keep them warm during the cold nights. A felt hat also served other purposes that only cowboys could appreciate. They could use it as a water receptacle for their horses to drink out of or even fan themselves or a campfire. While felt hats are a part of the cowboy legend, you can now get hats that look like felt but are made from wool or even animal fur dyed in a large range of colors for just about any occasion you can think of.

Bangora hats: These are work hats for contemporary individuals that serve to offer the same protection from the sunshine as the original cowboy hats. Since they are machine-made in bulk and characterized by a typical weave, they also cost considerably less than their handcrafted counterparts. However, if you are looking for a wider choice, you need not stop at Bangora. You can opt for a cowboy hand made from sisal, or palm leaf, both eco-friendly materials.

Palm leaf hats: Since palm leaf hats are traditionally hand-woven and made from a hardy material that lasts much longer than a cowboy hat made from straw or Bangora, they are much more expensive. In addition to its exclusive appearance, you can also clean palm leaf hats easily, which is a big plus if you wear cowboy hats regularly. It is because traditionally, palm leaf cowboy hats are not lacquered. Another little-known fact is that you can shape a palm leaf hat to the shape of your head by simply soaking it in water, drying them to the brim, and bending them to your preference.

What Should Be the Fit of the Cowboy?

The first thing you need to make certain of when buying a cowboy hat is that it should fit snugly on your head, even to the extent of being somewhat uncomfortably tight. It is because these hats tend to expand from the heat escaping from your head. Because of this, you will discover that the hat becomes loose and conforms to the shape of your head, making for a comfortable fit. Moreover, straw hats should fit a little more tightly than felt hats since they are lighter and inclined to blow off in the wind. Make sure you wear the hat properly by ensuring that the small bow on the inside faces the back. Depending on the shape of your head and the look you want to project, you can angle the brim or even tilt the front right up for a more casual look. A slant towards the front that hides your eyes can add to your mystique.

Conclusion

You should take a little time to carefully consider everything before buying a cowboy hat. In addition to the material, you need to pay attention to the style and the fit. Taking proper care of your cowboy hat is also essential for extending its life and keeping it looking good.