The Ultimate Hat Guide

Apple Cap

The apple cap is a larger version of the newsboy cap as described further down the page. It is divided into eight panels and finished with a sewn button on top.

Ascot Caps

The Ascot cap is a variation of the ivy and flat caps and with a more rounded crown profile that is often stiffer and made from wool or felt.

Baseball Cap

The baseball cap is an American tradition and is one of the most common hats worldwide. Simple, casual and easy to wear, they are great grab-and-go hats. They have a short to medium size bill that can be curved or flat in front that is normally attached to 6-quarter panels ending in a button at the top.

Beanie / Stocking Cap / Watch Cap

The beanie is a knitted, close-fitting cap typically made of wool or cotton created to provide warmth to your head in cold weather. Many different variants have developed throughout the years, such as the long stocking cap. This style is the same as the beanie, just with a longer crown meant to be too large and hang off the top or side for more style than warmth.

Beret

The Beret is a round, soft, flat crowned style with extra material around the edges for a slight “poof." They are commonly made of wool, cotton and acrylic fibers and are stereotypically associated with painters or artists. They often have what is known as a short apple stem coming out of the top. You can wear them in many different ways, either flat across the top of the head or hanging to one side or the other. They have roots as militaristic garb, and a Special Forces division even uses the term in their name, the “Green Berets."

Big Brim / Floppy Hats

Big brim and floppy hats are exactly what the name implies. They have become more popular and fashionable recently and are great pool hats for women. These brims can get up to 10 inches but are usually between 4 and 6 inches. They come in various colors and are typically made of paper braids or tweed material because they are slightly stronger and can support the weight of the brim better. Most always the crown style is a simple unformed rounded shape.

Boater / Skimmer Hat

The boater or skimmer hat is a style that many love and few actually wear. Boater hats are often associated with sailing and boating events, barbershop quartets and men's formal summer wear during the late 1800s and mid-1900s. They are made of straw and have a small- to medium-sized brim, a shorter crown and a flat top. The crown typically comes with an embellishment of a two-tone ribbon. The hats worn by the Gondoliers in the canals of Venice are very similar, with the exception that they normally have a thinner and wider brim, and the ribbon extends off the back of the hat in two tails.

Bowler / Derby Hat

Movie theatre characters of the 1800s and early 1900s helped make bowler hats iconic. They are typically hard felt hats with a rounded crown and a short brim that is around 2 inches.

Bucket / Boonie Hats

While I have seen both spellings of the word in many different catalogs and Internet sites, the more common and proper seems to be the “Boonie” variation. This style, originally made popular in the Vietnam War, is comprised most often of cotton/twill/polyester/canvas and is a soft wide-brimmed hat that can be rolled up and easily packed. It features a flat crown on top, a wide floppy brim, a chinstrap and sometimes has sewn-in loops around the crown to stow small pieces of gear. The hat's most common brim size is between 2.5 – 3.5 inches.

Cloche Hats

The cloche has become a very popular style in recent years that comes in every material. It is a close-fitting bell-shaped style that is round at the top and often flares a little at the bottom. You will typically notice an embellishment around the crown.

Duckbill Caps

The Duckbill cap is another more recent variation and is a hybrid style between an Ivy and an Ascot-style cap. It typically features a more rounded top towards the back that ends at the front in a more exaggerated down-sloping curve meeting the up-sloping bill. This formation creates a shape that looks similar to a duck bill, giving the style its name.

Fascinator Hats

Following the royal wedding, the fascinator made a huge comeback, and suppliers couldn’t produce them quickly enough. The fascinator is a headband-style hat with a bow on top of a headband. They also refer to as “cocktail hats,” but the main distinction is that they are either worn with a headband or clipped to the hair.

Fedora Hat

Stingy – Classic – The fedora is a broad term that encompasses a variety of crown styles and brim shapes. Its classic good looks, the ability to suit a wide variety of people and the many celebrities seen wearing it only add to the appeal. It is characterized by a short to mid-sized brim with an upturn in the back. The front can be either turned up or down in styles that let you do both are called snap-brims. See also: Trilby

Fez

The fez is a surprisingly popular style and can trace its roots to Fes, Morocco. It has become more popular recently thanks to the “Dr. Who” TV show. Most commonly seen in red, it is a tapering cylinder shape that usually has a tassel on the top.

Fitted

Fitted caps refer to baseball caps that measure in 1/8” increments for an exact fitted size that MLB players typically wear.

Gambler Hat

The Gambler style features a medium to wide brim of about 3 inches that typically has either a tight turned up lip around the edges or a slight turned up western flair at only the sides. It tends to have a flatter profile when looking at it from the side and is made in just about every material. The one distinct feature that defines the Gambler hat is the large oval shaped crown. Most are just rounded in the middle but a slight pinch at the center can also be found similar to that of an optimo style.

Homburg Hat

The homburg hat is an interesting style not seen too often these days. The overall shape of the hat is oval, with a turned-up lip around the brim of the style and generally curved upsides. The primary feature of the hat is the center-dent crown. Many movie fans refer to this hat as the Godfather hat that Al Pacino wore in the movie.

Ivy Caps / Flat Caps

The ivy cap and flat cap are a distinctive style that is growing in popularity among more fashion-forward and trendy youth. A low profile distinguishes the ivy cap with a slightly rounded top that extends to the front of the hat and is sewn to the bill. Sometimes the bill sticks out a little for a different look, while the crown and bill match perfectly other times. They come in any material but often consist of wool, cotton or polyester. It has the name “flat cap” because when laid on a table with the back of the style folded underneath it, it becomes perfectly flat.

Kettle Brim or Up-brim

A Kettle-brim hat is a women’s style, and though the name may not sound familiar, it is a hat most everyone has seen. They have a simple yet classic look and come in various materials. The style is distinguished by a symmetrical circular shape, a short to medium brim with a half to one-inch upturn at the edges and a rounded crown. Often they are accompanied by a bow or a ribbon around the crown and can have chinstraps.

Lifeguard Hat

The lifeguard hat is a very popular style due to its large brim and great sun coverage. The material consists of a type of straw, be it raffia, rush, palm fiber or other. Most lifeguard hats feature a center-dent crown shape and a wide, flat or down-sloping brim. One important thing to consider is though they are known for sun coverage, most lifeguard styles do not feature UPF protective fabrics.

Mao, Private or Military Cap

The Mao or private cap is military-looking and essentially a minimalist, stubby baseball cap. This style features a short brim of 2 and 3 inches and a short crown around the same size with a flat top. Both men and women wear these caps which are a great alternative to the standard baseball cap.

Newsboy Cap / Paperboy

The newsboy cap style refers to having 6- or 8-quarter panels that form into a larger, rounder version of the traditional ivy or flat cap. It finishes with a button atop it or a snap on the brim.

Novelty Hats / Caps

Novelty hats are styles that are mock-ups of the original thing, such as a fake policeman cap, fireman or mad hatter hat. These are for fun and costume.

Outback / Aussie Hat

A wider brim characterizes the outback hat, usually starting at about 2.5 inches and a flatter, slightly less parabolic profile than the safari. Often there is a slight upturn on the sides, giving it a western or “outback” feel. Crown shape may vary, but you will most often see a teardrop shape, also called a “C” crown.

Panama Hats

The Panama hat is one of the more beautiful and timeless styles around. Technically, Panama hats come from Ecuador, not Panama, but the widespread use of these hats during the construction of the Panama Canal granted them the name we all use today. Panama hats are not one style. Instead, they are characterized only by their material, Toquilla Straw.

A Panama hat can be made into any shape or style using its distinctive straw and, depending on the fineness of the fibers used, can be priced up to tens of thousands of dollars. All that said, when people talk about the Panama hat they tend to think of the wide-brimmed plantation or fedora style that is most common.

Peruvian

The Peruvian beanie or cap is a style easily recognizable by the two tassels hanging off the bottom of the ear flaps on either side. It shares characteristics with the beanie but has two large and long ear flaps for extra warmth and a bit of style. They usually have a decorative weave and a pom on the top.

Pith Helmet

The Pith helmet is a classic design that is nowadays a symbol that United States Postal Service workers wear. Many variations of the style exist, from the stereotypical version seen at the right to the cloth-covered ornate versions that explorers and militaries of days past have used. The term “Pith” comes from the material, a tissue in vascular plants' stems. They can also consist of cork, toyo straw or paper.

Porkpie Hat

The porkpie is a stylish hat typically worn today by the more fashion-forward. It has recently seen a rise in popularity due to the show “Breaking Bad” since it is the trademark hat of the main character Walter White. The primary characteristics are the crown shape, a flat-topped oval with an oval indention that defines the form.

This style can have a medium brim but most often has a small brim, called a “stingy brim." The “stingy brim” term more often now refers to the brim size and describes other styles with a short brim.

Race Hat / Derby

Race or derby hats are the big ornate styles you see on the opening days of the horse races. They are also known as Derbys though it is a contextual term because it is more traditionally associated with bowler hats.

Safari Hat

The safari style is often confused with the pith helmet some post-office workers use. The safari style is known for its gently downward sloping brim all around, a medium to high crown and a center dent crown style.

Snapback Hats

The term “snapback” refers to the cap that can adjust using two plastic pieces that snap together at the back in various lengths.

Steam Punk Hats

While not a traditional style with history, this category has recently become popular with Burning Man and other festival attendees and is worth noting. Steampunk is a fictional genre based in earlier Victorian periods, and the hats fit in with older styles, such as top hats and bowlers adorned with various brass ornaments like clock wheels and chains.

Tam

The tam hat has increased in style as of late and can be found in many varieties. The base is a loose-fitting, crocheted weave-style beanie hat worn on the back of the head. Aside from some men with dreadlocks or longer hair, this is a style that women usually wear.

Top Hat

The top hat is another iconic style that today is more often used as a novelty or in a formal situation. The two main distinguishing features are a large, sometimes convex crown and a short to medium brim. Aside from these, there are many variations in the style.

Trilby Hat

The Trilby is similar to the fedora in shape and style, except that the brim is relatively short. Trilby and fedora are often interchangeable terms when talking about the styles, so you will usually find what you are looking for when asking for either of these hat types.

Trucker Cap

The trucker cap is like the baseball with the exception that it is all mesh except for the front two quarter-panels. It usually has a snapback (see term below) adjustment.

Visor Hat

The visor is a great style coveted for its simplicity and packing ability. The only real criteria for a visor is that the top of the head is open, essentially a hat without a crown. There are now full brims that look like donuts and 3/4 brims with a split in the back for long hair.

Western or Cowboy

The cowboy hat is an American icon and can be immediately recognized as such anywhere around the world. They are typically made in felt, leather, or straw and have very wide brims. The more iconic shape shows the brim turned up at the sides but they are also sometimes flat. Along with brim size variation, they can have many different crown shapes as well including the pinch crown, “C” or teardrop, and center dent among others. In summation, the most telling factors of a cowboy hat usually tend to be a taller than usual crown and a wide brim up sloping brim.

Tear Drop / C-Crown

This crown type features a teardrop-looking shape when viewed from above. Hat enthusiasts call this a “C” crown because the rear of the crown looks like a distinct C.

Center Dent

The center dent style is as it sounds, with a single crease down the center of the crown with a typical depth of 1-2 inches.

Diamond

The diamond crown is a less widely seen style but looks as it sounds when viewed from above. It is a wider crown shape typically seen on contemporary fedoras.

Oval / Round

The oval or round-shaped crown is most commonly found and is a distinctive attribute of a Gambler hat. Other hats use this style as well.

Flat Top

Top hats, the Spanish zorro style, fez and pork pies have a variation of flat tops that describe the hat's cropped surface.