You'll have noticed some rather outrageous straw hats on your Insta feed this summer, starting with a nearly nude Bella Hadid wearing a gargantuan Olmos & Flores hat in Mexico. Looking every inch a '70s Vogue Italia cover girl, the model's post now has nearly 1.5 million likes. Soon after, Danish influencer Emma Leth wore a statement Jacquemus hat at her summer wedding, making it impossible to upstage the bride.
This isn't the first time supersize sun hats have been en vogue, and no one designer can be credited with creating the piece, which has cropped up everywhere from Gucci and Dior to Brigitte Bardot in the '60s and Rachel in Friends.
While Bella and Emma have made us want to parade around the city and the seaside in straw headgear that could dwarf the sun, the trend is admittedly less practical IRL.
So we tried it during one working week, seeing whether hats from high end to high street could be incorporated into our day-to-day get-ups. Ahead, R29's Creative Lead Casey Bird shares her thoughts on wearing five hats in five days, from the glamorous to the wearable to the wobbly.
Wind resistance: This hat was too small for me and didn't stay on very well at all. It's super cute in a photo but not so cute when I had to walk around all day in it, because I was constantly catching it just before it was about to fall off.
Sun protection: The brim was the perfect size to cover my face, but I'd say this hat is more summer-in-the-city than beach holiday vibe.
Comfort: It wasn’t the most comfortable hat because I was constantly in fear every time a gust of wind came by. I just couldn’t relax in it at all.
Wearability: I think if you had a smaller head it would be absolutely fine. I didn’t feel like a hat weirdo in it at all and it would be perfect (in theory) for a weekend city break teamed with a cute summer dress and flats. Sadly it just wasn’t the hat for me.
Style: The overall style of the hat wasn’t my personal taste – especially the patterned ribbon around the crown. But I did like that it had a solid brim in comparison to the floppy hats…which I’ll get to in a minute.
Rating: 3/5
Kitri Eliana Polka Dot Wrap Dress, £145 / Sliders, Casey's own
Sensi Studio Panama Hat with Large Ribbon, £81
Wind resistance: This hat definitely isn’t a practical hat in the wind. It didn’t fit on my head properly, which I was sad about (again, damn head) and so I wore it perched on the back of my head all day which I still think looked cute. I would avoid this on a windy day!
Sun protection: Sadly I didn’t feel protected in this hat and felt the sun on my face all day.
Comfort: If it fit I’m sure it would be comfy but I felt really aware of it tipping off my head, which was just damn stressful.
Wearability: This hat is a great piece to pair with any summer outfit but I think it would pair so well with an autumn get-up too. If it fit properly, I would have loved it.
Style: I love love love the colour of the toquilla straw and the oversized ribbon around it is just the cutest too. I guess the only downside is the crown of the hat was quite small.
Rating: 3/5
Dress, Casey's own
Wind resistance: Because it fit on my head so well I had no worries of it flying off, which was really good. It has an elasticated crown so definitely felt really cosy on my head.
Sun protection: I wouldn’t trust this hat for sun protection personally – it felt too light and airy. I am pretty OTT when it comes to sun on my face, though, and still layered on my SPF 50 just in case.
Comfort: This was definitely the most comfortable hat I tried. It was soft, cosy and light.
Wearability: This hat is absolutely perfect for a city break as it doesn’t feel too beachy because of the darker colours and the textures. I felt comfortable wearing it out and about for the day and it worked well with a few things I tried on in the morning.
Style: I actually didn’t like the look of this hat when I first saw it. I didn’t love the colours or the floppiness of it. But once I had it on, I really started to like it. It’s the perfect final touch to a great city summer's day outfit.
Rating: 4/5
Dress & mules, Casey's own
& Other Stories Woven Straw Sun Hat, £29
Wind resistance: It’s such a floppy hat. Every time the wind blew it wafted into my face – not a good look at all.
Sun protection: Well, it protected some of my face but because it was so floppy some of my face was constantly in the sun.
Comfort: The brim kept blocking my eyesight as I walked so it wasn’t an ideal hat in terms of comfort; I ended up just taking it off as I couldn’t see where I was going.
Wearability: I’ve never liked floppy hats – they look a bit odd – so I was very self-conscious in this hat and didn’t think it suited me at all.
Style: This hat arrived looking quite different from its picture on the site so I was a little disappointed with it. It was also hard to get it back into the right shape, especially the crown – so be careful if you’re packing it in your suitcase. This hat is definitely not the one for me.
Rating: 1/5
Eugenia Kim Mirabel Straw Hat, £470
Wind resistance: It’s a sturdy hat for sure. I felt a lot more comfortable when the wind blew than the previous hat. So a good start...
Sun protection: It was amazing for sun protection not just on my face but my shoulders, too.
Comfort: It fit my head really well and it didn’t feel heavy either, which I was pretty surprised about. But because it’s so big I felt like I couldn’t turn my head without feeling it rub against my neck and shoulders, and suddenly became really aware of it with every movement.
Wearability: Let’s be honest, it’s a little OTT for a London Sunday brunch isn’t it? I felt pretty bougie walking to work in it. But fly me to the south of France to test it out and I’d be absolutely fine (no honestly, please fly me to the south of France so I can wear this hat).
Style: I mean just look at it! I felt like a Parisian film star in it. It’s beautiful to look at – the natural straw and oversized silk ribbon are all so elegantly crafted. It’s absolutely stunning.
Rating: 4/5
Final comments: I was a little nervous to try out this trend as I'm not usually a hat person – I generally feel a bit awkward in them – but I found that they added such a sunshine feeling to every outfit I wore. I'll definitely be incorporating a few into my wardrobe this summer.
Mango Bow Long Jumpsuit, £29.99 / Shoes, Casey's own
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