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Choosing The Right Hat For Your Face Shape
Some people in this world are just naturally hat people. You know the type, those people that seem to be able to pull off any kind hat, and just seem to exude cool. The type of cool you would love to have, if you could find the right hat for you. But where do you even start? How do you choose which hat is going to suit you?
A good place to start is to find a hat that suits your face shape. Different styles of hats can either enhance or detract from your unique facial features. Let’s have a look at some of the different types of face shapes and what kind of Akubra hats are likely to capture that “cool-hat-guy” feeling for you.
Diamond
What is a Diamond face shape? Diamond face shapes have a narrow forehead and a small chin. Your cheekbones will be the widest part of your face and sit nice and high.
What kind of hats suit Diamond faces? Diamond faces are versatile, which is lucky for you! Medium to wide brims will bring balance to sharp cheekbones, and you can also get away with a floppy brim. Pinched front crowns perfectly accentuate a Diamond shaped face, as well as shorter pill box (round) crowns. If your face is shorter, consider wearing your hat tilted back on the head to help give the illusion of a longer face.
Celebrity Diamond Faces: Guy Pierce, Luke Jacobz, David Genat, Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson
L-R: Luke Jacobs in the Akubra Snowy River, David Genat wore an Akubra Leisure Time during his time on Survivor, Guy Pierce demonstrates how a classic pinched front Fedora accentuates a Diamond face.
L-R: The Angler, The Byron and The Avalon
Which hat should I try? The medium sized Brim of the Snowy River, Cattleman, Angler, Coolabah and Avalon provides the right balance for a diamond shape. The Territory’s angular pinched brim accentuates the cheekbones if you are looking for a wider sunhat. The Stylemaster, Leisure Time, Banjo Patterson, Balmoral and Traveller give an urban edge. Diamond face shapes can look great in pillbox crowns, like the Byron.
Heart
What is a Heart face shape? A heart-shaped face will typically have a slender jawline and your cheekbones and forehead are the widest parts of your face.
What kind of hats suit Heart faces? We recommend going for a medium sized brim, but you can get away with any style of hat. If you have a much wider forehead and an especially narrow chin, you may want to avoid very wide-brimmed or very short-brimmed hats, as both will make your forehead appear even wider, emphasizing the triangular shape of your face. Another word of caution is to avoid floppy brims, as the extra volume around the top of your face can also create this effect.
Celebrity Heart Faces: Hugh Jackman, Hugo Weaving, Liam Hemsworth, Ryan Gosling, Chris Pine
L-R Hugh Jackman is often spotted in an Akubra Cattleman, Hugo Weavings Western style hat in Mystery Road, Liam Hemsworth’s urban Akubra Traveller style fedora.
L-R: The Stony Creek, The Banjo Patterson and The Tablelands
Which hat should I try? A tall crowned Western hat such as the Rough Rider, Bronco or Golden Spur can add length to a Heart shaped face. A medium brim urban Fedora such as a Traveller, Banjo Patterson, Leisure Time, Balmoral or Stylemaster is a stylish choice for everyday wear. Coober Pedy, Tablelands and Cattleman are fantastic medium brim choices. Heart face shapes can also do well in pillbox crowns, like the Byron.
Rectangle
What is a Rectangle face shape? Rectangular face shapes feature a square jaw and a face that's longer than it is wide. Your forehead and jaw are a similar width. You are also likely to have a high forehead.
What kind of hats suit Rectangle faces? You’ll look best wearing hats that cut across the forehead, or cover a lot of the forehead, which will shorten the effect of a longer face. Look for hats with a wide brim and a shorter crown, which will balance the length of your face. We recommend you choose hat styles that will create a silhouette of width rather than height. Rectangle faces can get away with floppy brims, if they are wider and add the much-needed width.
Celebrity Rectangle Faces: Lee Kernaghan, Geoffrey Rush, Shane Warne, Ben Affleck, Will Smith
L-R: Geoffrey Rush wearing a fedora that covers most of his forehead, which allows him to get away with a slightly shorter brim. Shane Warne and Lee Kernaghan create width with the Akubra Cattleman and Western style hats.
L-R: The Rough Rider, The Coolabah and the Territory
Which hat should I try? The Rough Rider, Bronco and Golden Spur’s wide brims create width which mitigates their high crowns on rectangular faces. The Snowy River gives you a western with the best of both worlds with a medium wide brim and short crown. Great non-Western wide brim choices include the Coober Pedy, Avalon, Coolabah, and Cattleman, the widest choices are the Territory and Riverina. The Traveller and Balmoral are great fedora’s with slightly wider brims.
Round
What is a Round face shape? The sides of your face curve slightly outward instead of being straight. Your chin is rounded, and your face is almost as wide as it is long.
What kind of hats suit Round faces? Balance the fullness of a round face with hats that have some angularity to them such as a medium brimmed fedora with a teardrop shaped crown. Try balancing out your face shape with a boxy crown or choose a tall crown to help elongate soft facial curves. If you like rounder hat styles, experiment with wearing them tilted to the side to create some asymmetry around this overly symmetrical shape, be careful of wearing them tilted back, however, as this can emphasize the roundness of your face.
Celebrity Round Faces: Guy Sebastian, Scott Cam, Dustin Clare, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kanye West
L-R Scott Cam’s wide brimmed Coober Pedy does the trick, Dustin Clare’s tall crowned Rough Rider on the set of McLeod’s Daughters, Guy Sebastian favours rounded hats, so wears them at a tilted angle to create asymmetry.
L-R: The Cattleman, The Leisure Time and The Traveller
Which hat should I try? The Golden Spur, Angler, and Cattleman have the perfect box crown and teardrop crease for a Round face. The Traveller, and Coober Pedy provide an ideal brim width to compliment these faces. The Rough Rider’s tall crown is what you will need to look for in a Western hat. You Can never go wrong with the sharp angles of a Stylemaster, Leisure Time or Banjo Patterson.
Square
What is a Square face shape? With a square face shape, your forehead, cheekbones and jaw will be the same width, but have a more pronounced, wider jawline, often with sharp angles to it.
What kind of hats suit Square faces? If you have a square face, add some softness and roundness to your look. Stay away from hats with sharp angles and edges. Floppy brimmed hats can also suit Square faces, as it adds some softness and asymmetry to the face. Hats that can be worn lower on the forehead can help soften the severity angles of a square face.
Celebrity Square Faces: Sam Neill, Heath Leger, Jason Clarke, Brad Pitt, Eric Bana
L-R: Sam Neil’s floppy brim in Jurassic Park made this hat a sought-after classic. Heath loved fedoras, but wore them lower, cutting across the forehead just above the eyebrows, creating a softer look. Jason Clarke’s floppy worn- in Fedora also creates a softer feel against his square jaw.
L-R: The Balmoral, The Stylemaster and The Coober Pedy
Which hat should I try? The Coober Pedy, Tablelands and Coolabah all have rounded crowns to soften a square face. The Avalon is the perfect stylish floppy brimmed choice. Choose Banjo Patterson, Leisure Time or the Traveller for a softer brimmed Fedora, or opt to break the rules and choose a Stylemaster or Balmoral, worn lower on the forehead.
Oval
What is an Oval face shape? Oval face shapes are slightly longer than they are wide, and the cheekbones are the widest part of the face. The jaw and forehead are rounded, and the sides of the face are slightly curved—there are no sharp angles.
What kind of hats suit Oval faces? Those with an Oval face shape are the luckiest of them all, there is literally no hat shape or style that won’t suit them. Even tricky to pull off styles like the Trilby, Homburg or Pillbox hat will look great on an Oval face, the only choice is what colour and style to suit the way that you dress.
Celebrity Oval Faces: Prince William, Aaron Pedersen, Chris Hemsworth, George Clooney, Gerard Butler
L-R: Aaron Pedersen’s Western hat in Mystery Road, Chris Hemsworth in a Traveller style Fedora, Prince William in an Akubra Coober Pedy.
L-R: The Snowy River, The Riverina and The Casablanca
Which hat should I try? All of them! The world is your oyster…
Hats That Look Good On (Just About) Anyone
At Everything Australian we have been helping people choose hats for quite a few years, and there’s a couple of hats that just tend to look great one just about anyone who tries them on. Male or female, young or old, if you want a great starter hat that’s easy to wear, may we suggest....
The Traveller
This modern, larger brimmed fedora’s soft round shape and pinched crown looks fantastic on just about everyone. Its versatile enough to be worn in almost every casual setting and can be worn formally in black or sand. We recommend the Traveller as a great first Akubra, as its soft internal band and ability to pop back into shape when crushed makes it a very easy care hat.
The Coober Pedy
The Rounded shape of the crown and delicate dip of the wide brim make the Coober Pedy a very fine hat. Its curves can compliment just about every face shape, and it comes in a range of colours. If you are looking for the Akubra all-Australian look in a less boxy, softer shaped hat, give the Coober Pedy a try.
The Stylemaster
The classic fedora looks good on any face shape. You can tilt it or wear it low on the forehead, and it will adapt to compliment or mitigate any exaggerated facial feature. The classic fedora is also instant cool if your brave enough to wear one. The Stylemaster is Akubra’s signature formal fedora, available in a range of colours, you won’t be disappointed with this stunning hat.
For our full range of Akubra Hats please see here