Hat care and storage
It’s finally happened: You’ve chosen your brand-new hat! Everyone knows that exciting feeling of wearing a new hat for the first time and never wanting to take it off. It’s incredibly comfortable, stylish, and offers excellent protection from the sun, rain, or cold.
But every hat lover eventually faces moments when their hat gets dirty, something breaks, or the hat sits unused for a while. To ensure your hat remains a durable and trusty companion, we’ve gathered the most essential care tips for you in this blog post.
Waterproofing – Dirt Doesn’t Stand a Chance
Materials like high-quality beaver fur naturally have excellent dirt and water-repellent properties. However, not all hats come with such built-in protection. Cotton, for instance, is highly absorbent and can even shrink when dried. Don’t worry, though—there’s an easy fix for this and many other materials: waterproofing spray!
This spray creates an invisible coating on all types of leather and textiles. It’s not a blockbuster movie effect—it’s made with silicone resins and special active ingredients that make water, dirt, and grease bead right off the hat. Even hats made from water-repellent materials like fur felt can benefit from waterproofing, and the reasons for this are outlined below.
The Advantages of a Waterproofing Spray:
- Protects against water penetration
- Guards against dirt
- Extends the material’s lifespan
- Maintains the hat’s condition and preserves its color
- All its qualities are wonderfully retained
Cleaning – Everyday Care at Its Best
An essential part of hat care is keeping your hat clean. A simple and effective method is using textile brushes. Regular brushing is especially important for felt hats. Let’s start with the basics: use a dark brush for dark hats and a light brush for light hats—easy enough. Whenever possible, opt for dry cleaning over wet cleaning. When a hat gets damp, there's a risk of spreading dirt rather than removing it.
How to Clean the Sweatband:
- Fill a bowl with lukewarm water.
- Add a small amount of citric acid or detergent.
- Dip a sponge into the solution and gently scrub the dirt off the sweatband.
- Repeat the process using clean water to rinse away any residue.
Storage – Always Keep Your Hats in Shape
Even if your hat has been professionally cleaned and waterproofed, improper storage can cause it to lose its shape over time. To ensure your hats always look their best, we’ve put together the most essential hat storage tips.
What happened here? It didn’t look like this a couple of weeks ago!" Even if your hat has been professionally cleaned and waterproofed, it can lose its shape over time if it’s not stored properly. To ensure your hats always look their best, we’ve compiled the most important tips for proper hat storage.
When you’re visiting someone or on the go, you often don’t have the right resources at hand. Plus, hat etiquette typically requires you to remove your hat indoors—so what should you do? Most hat styles, such as cowboy hats or pork pie hats, should be stored upside down on their crowns to prevent the brims from losing their shape. However, for other styles, like cloches, things can get a bit more complicated. In these cases, a coat hook might work as a solution. But then there’s another challenge: larger hats often don’t fit on standard wall hooks or inside closets.
At home, we recommend using a dedicated hat hook, hat stand, or hat stretcher to help maintain your hat’s shape. Not only do these tools preserve the form of your hats, but they also keep them organized and easily accessible. With all your hats visible, you can quickly choose the perfect one to match your outfit.
Another great option is a hatbox, which is especially useful for traveling. A hatbox provides enough space for large hats and can even accommodate accessories like a matching scarf. But how do you properly use a hatbox?
Using a Hatbox
- The hat should not be squashed, but it also shouldn't move around too much.
- Most hats, especially those with a curved brim, should be placed on their crown.
- Once the hat is properly positioned, close the lid.
Here’s another little tip: If you no longer need your hatbox for its original purpose, it can make a wonderful decorative item. Use it to store other things or even as a flower pot. Hat storage can be so charming!
