Cool Hats for Staying Warm

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

GoLocalProv Lifestyle Editor Andrea E. McHugh

It may not be officially documented in the annals of health, but many people remember mom always telling them to wear a hat to prevent catching a cold. While colds are rhinoviruses that are spread most commonly by what we breath and touch, when it’s this cold out, every little bit helps, and keeping warm, some researchers claim, help fight infection. Here are a few fashionable pieces of headwear to keep warm and chic on a cold winter’s day.

The Trapper Hat

Also known as an aviator, these hats are decidedly bulky, pinning upward at the bill with dangling funky ear flaps and tie straps to finish the look (often dotted with tassels at the side). Faux fur lining or fleece insulation is animal-friendly and will keep your noggin extra warm (and your budget in check). Styles are often solid tan or khaki, olive green, plaid flannel or Nordic-inspired patterns. Chafee Emory, owner of Potter & Co. in Newport (an outerwear outpost for 100 years), says trapper hats are flying out of the store this winter, reporting nearly half of the inventory she ordered already sold.

The Young-at-Heart Earflap Hat

Just when you thought Bert and Ernie were officially retired as part of your inner circle, the perennial puppets and their equally juvenile pals have made their way to headwear this season. The knit hats spotted at Urban Outfitters on Thayer Street in Providence with warm earflaps sport animals, icons, even the ubiquitous sock monkey, and more often than not include ears, hair, and when necessary, antlers, and of course, a pair of pompom strings.

The Newsboy Cap

Here ye, here ye, read all about it! Tweed newsboys are hot this season. Blame it on the exquisite styling seen on HBO’s Boardwalk Empire or George Clooney, Brad Pitt, John Hamm and Gerard Butler for sporting them lately (though, to be fair, those men would make a dunce hat look fashionable). Also called Irish driving caps, most sport a solid or herringbone pattern, and are versatile enough to look great on men and women, as proven with the selections at Modern Love on Westminster Street in Providence.

The Fedora

Synonymous with summer when made of lighter fabrics, like cotton and linen, we have Mad Men to blame for this trend being seen the whole year through. Heavier textiles make this classic angular hat in soft felt and wool renditions warm through the winter months, and women’s style are often

festooned with sequin or shimmer, or a bold ribbon band, to add panache. Such looks have been a favorite of starlets including Ashlee Simpson, the Olson twins, Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears. The hat is said to have made it’s debut in an 1882 play, and a century later, has clearly endured fashion’s many crazes.

The Turban

Winterized interpretations of this Middle East staple have been turning up on celebrities with an eye on fashion and function. Hugging the head all around and covering the ears, the look was spotted on the runway in Fall 2010 ready-to-wear collections, on celebs like Kylie Minogue at last month's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (left), and the ever-so-chic Carrie Bradshaw sported a lighter rendition in Sex in the City 2.