Hello! I’m Anastazja.

And here with me one of the owner of the Le Szapo hat shop, Boris.

Today Boris agreed to answer the most popular questions which customers ask when they are looking for a hat.

A. So Boris, imagine, I’ve never worn a hat in my life, so I planned to come to your shop for a hat.

What people should know or read before coming to a hat shop?

 

B. You can read a lot online, this is a big plus to our generation as always.

 You can read about the shape who fit the best to each face, to each style, the origins of hats, the sizes, the prices etc…

It’s always good to know a little bit about a topic, if you are interested in fashion, design, history.

You can also learn about the hat’s jargon.

Hats have some technical words:

The Brim, The Form, The Crown, The Sweatband, The grosgrain, The Feather…

 

But it’s not an obligation, you can also come as you are and discover buy yourself, without any a prejudice.

That’s the best way to not be disappointed.

In hat shops people are passionate and will help you and teach you some tips!

Reading is theory, meeting is life!

A. There are a lot of different styles of hats. What are they and how a client can understand what style he/she should look for?

 

The most important is like with shoes, is it for a wedding, for casual outfit, outdoor activities, chill on the beach? This is the first question I will ask you.

Fedora, Trilby, Pork Pie, Cloche, Capelin, Bucket, Beret, Cap…

All of them are very different and bring a new style to your wardrobe.

 

The idea of a hat is to bring the right balance to the line of your face.

 

• For a square face, (large forehead and large jawbone) :

Bring some roundness!

For Women I recommend the Cloche, or Chapeau Melon, Bowler.

For Men, Fedora or Bowler will be perfect.

 

• For Oval face, (very slightly rounded, normal forehead):

Lucky you, you can wear everything!

It will mostly depend on your mood and the style you want to choose.

 

 

• For long and thin face, for Women, I will recommend to wear all type of hat, but to go as much as possible on wide Brim.

A Fedora or a Capelin (hat with floppy brim)  are the best option.

For men, a Fedora with normal brim is perfect. It helps as well to break the line of the face.

 

• For Round face, it means as long as large.

I recommend Fedoras and Pork Pie for men.

For women, structured hat are perfect, the wide brim and fedora are recommended.

For Long hair, detach them to bring some verticality.

So I put a hat on my head. How a hat should fit so that it will be comfortable for me?

This really depends only on you. Wear it, is it comfortable? So it’s yours!

If no, try another size… or another shape.

As our face, skulls have different shapes, and there is no rules for this. The best is to try and keep it during few minutes to feel it.

 

You can also take the measure of your head and it will help to find the right one.

It’s a very personal feeling, but in general it’s better to not move aside the ears. 

Should a person measure a hat size before going to a shop? And how to measure a hat size when you are at home?

No need to measure before going to the shop, we will help you for that.

But if you do it at home, the technic is simple, take a meter, place it 1cm above your ears and turn around the head to measure.

Adult sizes are from 54 to 64.

54 is XS, 64 XXXL.

57/58 is Medium Size.

The hat should not be too large as the wind will blow it away. But is wearing a tight hat bad for you?

If it’s very windy, better bring your hand on your hat to keep it safe.

 

To tight is not a good idea because you will have red marks and headache.

And finally, you will stop wearing your hat.

 

If it’s a bit too loose, you can place rolled newspaper or cork strip behind the sweatband.

It helps the hat to sit better.

 

If it’s really too loose, better take a smaller size.

Ok, so if the hat size is right, sometimes people think that a hat should touch the top of their head? Is that true?
Same story than with the skull shape, we are all different.

In my opinion I prefer when the top of the hat does not touch my head.

It flats the hair and I look weird when I take out the hat.

Your hair has to breathe and if you pull the hat down, you will hide the beauty of your face.

This is the opposite of the hat effect!

Why is it good to wear a hat?

First reason, it’s technical:

During the summer you protect your skin from the sun, and the strong UV.

It’s as well preventive for skin illness and skin bleaching.

And you will need less sunscreen!

 

During the winter you keep the warm:

Do you know that the skull evacuates by himself 30% of the body heat?

Second reason it’s esthetical, of course.

As I start to explain before, the hat creates a circle behind your face, like a background of a scene. It’s bringing out the beauty of the face.

 

Third reason directly connected to the first: it’s connecting.

As you show your beauty, you also show you are open mind and you bring happiness to the everyday life.

You will show more sympathy to people and it’s possible you will meet other people as before.

 

Fourth reason, it’s renovating your wardrobe without changing your clothes.

With this accessory you can wear again this shirt you did not love anymore because it was a bit to extravagant, or bit vintage, or shapeless.

With your new hat, all your clothes will know a new birth.

What rules do YOU use when you buy hats?
Rule Number One: Do I like it without wearing it?

 

This is the most important, if you see it in your apartment and love it, you will have the power to wear it, even if you feel not ready to have a hat.

 

Rule Number too:

Is it bringing something new in my style?

I love to go out of my comfort zone and to dress up.

I am always in love with hat which make me feel like an actor, on the limit of the ridiculous.

 

Rule Number Three:

To not think about what people will think about me.

What are the general rules that people should know while wearing a hat?
Do what YOU want. Be Yourself, improvise, love it, don’t share it,

And the last question: Why do people wear hats in your opinion? I’m talking not about style but from the physiological point of view.

In some cultures, hats are like a protection from the mind.

I like this idea because buy keeping your hat safe from warm or cold, by showing your beauty, by taking care of your style, you are protected your mind, your inside beauty.

For it’s cool to have the right balance between all this concept.