As the seasons change, so do the materials hats are made of. This is what separates Spring/Summer from Fall/Winter hats. Sure, you can wear your summer straw in the winter, if you’d like. But, that’s like wearing sandals in the snow.
To get you prepared for the upcoming cold weather seasons, here’s a quick guide to materials:
Traditional Wool Felt*: Wool felts are animal hairs - mainly sheep - that are sheared, tangled together, stretched and dyed. Traditional wool felts usually have a matte finish. Loving the idea of a well traveled hat, most of our wool hats are packable and can be folded or rolled for a brief time. See Belfry Attilo
Lux Wool*: A wool with a longer hair finish. Lux wools tend to be softer to the touch and have a slightly shinier finish. Like our traditional wools, our Lux Wools are packable and travel well. See Belfry Gwen
Wool & Cashmere Blend*: This is a blend of sheep and goat hairs making for a very soft felt. These hats can be a bit stiffer. But, remain among our packable hats collection. See Belfry Frankie-C
Fur Felt: Unlike wool felts, fur felts are not sheared. The pelts are handled by a special machine leaving us with a felt that is free of tangled hairs, air and dirt. Fur felts can have either a short or long hair finish. These felts are extremely lightweight. Despite this, fur felts are actually more durable than a wool felt and are also naturally water repellent. While some of our fur felt are as packable as our traditional wools, not all of them are. So, keep that in mind while traveling. See Belfry Agosto
Western Wool: A wool with an extremely stiff finish. These hats are hard to the touch. Because of how stiff they are, western wools tend to be slightly heavier and are not in the least bit packable. So, please do not try! See Belfry Xander
All of these materials are easy to maintain. Keep them dust and dirt free by using a hat brush (for your fur felts) or sponge. And, store in a hat box.
*As these are fall/winter materials, wearing wools during the hotter months, and exposing them to heat, will cause them to shrink.
