The Sun Hat Edit

My dad and baby Lacey (in a sun hat) circa 1995

Today’s newsletter is a P.S. to last week’s A Love Affair with the Sun — sun hat edition. It will be short and sweet (and a day late, which I’m blaming on Father’s Day) so let’s dive in. 🏊

The easiest way to protect yourself from the sun? Seek shade! Just kidding. That’s not realistic (or fun) so, instead, enter: the sun hat.

sun hat.

noun.

a broad-brimmed hat that protects the head and neck from the sun.

The trusty broad-brimmed hat is an amazing frontline defense against sun damage on your face and neck. I used to feel embarrassed wearing a big hat (am I being neurotic? uncool? old?) but living in LA quickly led me to toss that notion out the window. Everyone is sun-conscious here — the youth included. Now that I live in the sunny state of California, I’ve (appropriately) doubled down on my commitment to sun protection, and have the hats and visors to prove it. Shared below are a few I love that work especially well for sun cover.

Let’s first talk for a hot second (pun intended 🥵) about UPF. Defined as Ultraviolet Protection Factor, UPF determines the level of UV protection offered by certain protective hats and clothing. As you might imagine, certain materials offer naturally higher UV protection than others. A hat with a tighter weave, thicker fabric, or darker color, for example, would have a higher UPF rating than a flimsy hat in a lighter color. Why? Because they absorb UV rays more effectively. In short, a UPF score can help us know for sure whether a sun hat is doing what it says it does: protecting us from the sun. For a deeper dive on the science behind UPF, here is a nice overview.

For the record, UPF50+ is the highest achievable rating on the UPF scale and means that at least 98% of the sun’s UVA and UVB rays are blocked by a hat or fabric. When looking for sun hats, I try to see if it comes with a UPF rating to give me that extra peace of mind. If it doesn’t, that’s not to say I won’t buy the hat. My POV is that you can go a little crazy researching which hats are best UPF-wise. A hat you’ll consistently wear, UPF rated or not, is always going to be the best choice.

1. Lola Camaro Hat 2. Mad Hatter Magic Hat 3. Hat Attack Canvas Hat 4. Wide Brim Sun Visor 5. Bluestone Sun Shield 6. Hunza G UPF 50 Hat 7. Lack of Color Ribbon Hat 8. Janessa Leoné Harlow Packable Hat 9. Helen Kaminski Raffia Visor

Now, for the favorites!

The Camargo by Lola Hats

I used to think Lola Hats had cornered the market on sun hats because they have so many cute ones (see here, here, and here). That said, this Camargo hat has gotten the most wear of any hat I’ve purchased in recent years. It’s lightweight, pliable (important when packing!), and really easy to wear. The price point is steep 😬 but I’ve gotten it down to a pretty low cost per wear at this point. Given the straw material, there is no UPF rating (I’m sure it’s not as protective as a thicker canvas option like Hat Attack below). But, again, a wide-brimmed hat that’s attractive (and you’ll consistently wear) is better than nothing! Material: 100% wheat straw.

The Magic Hat

I discovered this one at Malia Mills and got incredible mileage out of it. Easy to dress up or down! I eventually shrunk it in the dryer (don’t recommend) and, as punishment, wouldn’t let myself buy another. I found some decent backfills on Etsy (which is a great sun hat resource btw!).

Hat Attack

I fell in love with these canvas hats last summer because of their built in UPF50+ rating. They come in white, natural, or navy stripe. All cute!

Wide Brim Sun Visor

At $18 for a two pack, this purchase is as practical as they come. I first saw this visor on the most beautiful woman walking in Brentwood. She was probably in her late 50s and had the most incredible, radiant skin. It was clear she took care of it and made a point to protect it in peak sunlight. I was bold enough to ask her about her visor, and she was nice enough to share the secret. Plot twist: it was $9 on Amazon. I have two sets of these and keep one permanently in my car. I wear it when carrying Elsie and love that it gives her head a little shade too! For a more upscale option, Helen Kaminski makes a beautiful Raffia one. This one from Freya is nice, too.

Bluestone Sun Shields

I think people thought I was joking when I first wore this. It was after I had done an IPL face treatment and wasn’t supposed to be in the sun, but I had a trip booked to Costa Rica. Anxious as I was about damaging my fragile, post-IPL skin, on went the shield. Anxiety relieved! Joke or not, I came to love these for sun protection in the right setting. I have one in both champagne and blue.

1. This Traveller Broad Brim Sun Hat is old school with a modern, UPF twist. My dad wears a version of this and looks quite distinguished! More importantly, great to know that with UPF50+, it’s doing its job.

2. Baseball hat. Groundbreaking, I know. Some nice options here, here, and here.

3. What about a lifeguard hat?!

Baby Lacey in double sun hats. How’s that for UPF?!

I stopped into the Hunza G summer shop on Melrose in LA this week and discovered their new Kids Hat (I’m partial to the Cornflower!). It has the same UPF50+ rating we talked about above. They make them for adults too.

Another nice UPF50+ option is this Vanilla Stripe Seersucker number from Flap Happy.

Safari Reversible Sun Hat with Ears had me at “with ears.”

This Noe Baby Hat by Oso & Me is super cute. Three fun prints (signature dot is my favorite) give you plenty of options to choose from.

With that – hope you’ve had a sunny start to your week! ☀️ As always, please don’t gatekeep if you have favorite sun hats to share! I need a little help on the men’s category, clearly…:)¹

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