Choosing a hat

People wear hats for the weather, for an occasion, and for safety at work.

Weddings and church

Wikipedia describes a fascinator as a formal headpiece. It is usually a decorative design fixed to a band or clip. It covers very little of the head and gives little or no protection from the weather.

People wear one where hats are customary, generally with fairly formal clothes. Wikipedia notes that women often wear one to church services, and especially to weddings.

A day at the races

At Royal Ascot, the dress code changes from one enclosure to the next. Wikipedia sets out the main rules.

In the Royal Enclosure, women wear formal daywear and a hat with a solid base of 4 inches or more across. Men wear morning dress with a top hat.

In the Queen Anne Enclosure, women must wear a hat or a fascinator. In the Windsor Enclosure there is no formal code, and guests are encouraged to wear smart daywear.

The racecourse publishes its own guide to what to wear. Read it for the year you are going, before you choose a hat.

Sun and cold

The NHS says to spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm, from March to October in the UK. It suggests a wide-brimmed hat that shades the face, neck and ears.

For people with thinning hair or no hair, the NHS says sunscreen should go on the head, but a wide-brimmed hat is better.

Children's skin is much more sensitive than adults', so the NHS asks for extra care. Babies under 6 months should be kept out of direct strong sunlight.

In winter, many people in the UK wear a knitted hat, which they call a beanie. Wikipedia says these are usually made from wool or acrylic. A fur hat with earflaps that fold down keeps the ears warm as well.

Some common hat types

The descriptions above are Wikipedia's.

Measuring your head

Wikipedia says a hat size comes from measuring round your head, about 1 centimetre above the ears. Some makers give the size in centimetres and some in inches.

Sizes such as small, medium and large vary from maker to maker, and from style to style. A measurement in centimetres is easier to compare.

US hat sizes give the head's width across in inches. To turn your measurement in centimetres into a close US size, divide it by 8.

Felt hats can be stretched to fit. Some hats, such as baseball caps, can be adjusted.

Hats at work

A hard hat protects the head from falling objects such as tools. A lighter bump cap guards against knocks on fixed equipment. Wikipedia notes that a bump cap is not enough for a large impact, such as a tool dropped from several floors up.

In Great Britain, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) says that where a risk assessment shows protective equipment is needed, the employer must provide it free of charge. Workers must use it as they have been trained to. If it is lost or damaged, they should tell their employer.

Buying a hat online

You can usually cancel an online order within 14 days of the hat arriving. That right does not cover goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised. A hat made to measure or made to your own design may fall under that, so check with the seller before you order.

Once you have cancelled, the seller must refund you within 14 days of getting the hat back, or of you showing that you sent it, whichever comes first. The refund includes the standard delivery charge.

Try a hat on the way you would in a shop. If you handle it more than a shop would allow and it loses value, the seller can take that amount off the refund.

A separate exception covers sealed goods that cannot be returned for hygiene reasons once they are unsealed.

When a hat is faulty

A hat you buy from a business must be of satisfactory quality and match its description.

If it is faulty, you have 30 days to reject it. This is the short-term right to reject. You can also require the seller to repair or replace it. The seller must then do so within a reasonable time and pay the costs.

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