Women's hats have definitely evolved over the years. For several hundred years before the twentieth century, women's hats were associated with the elite classes. Ladies hats were not very functional, but were adorned with jewels, feathers, precious metals, and exotic fabrics, which made them prized possessions. For average to lower income women, the only hats available were cloth bonnets.
In the twentieth century, hats for women became affordable for all classes and women wore them proudly. Popular styles of womens vintage hats were the Cloche,Breton, Big Brim, Swinger, and the Off The Face. These styles remain strong today with designers like Helen Kaminski, John Callanan, and Betmar, who still design and create hats that are of exceptional quality, and original design.
Today, Women's hats are designed to serve both fashion and function (just look at some of the great hats by San Diego Hat Co.). A great amount of care goes into the design not just for fashion purposes, but also for sun protection, comfort, and durability. Most women's hats are unsized, which means they will fit a head size of generally 7" through 7 1/4" comfortable. We do have ways to either reduce or stretch a hat depending on your own size.
If in doubt, call us at 1-888-999-HATS and we'll certainly do our best to personally fit your head size with the best hat available.
