Tips for Picking the Right Hat

Do's:

Wear a hat that is complimentary to your skin tone.  Not everyone looks good in black or dark colors.  If you want to wear a black hat, make sure that it has lots of bright pink or red flowers on it.

A hat does not have to match your outfit perfectly.  You can wear a bright purple hat with a neutral beige outfit.  If your suit is navy, you could wear a beige hat with navy trim on it.

Use trims to bring out the color of your eyes.  If you have blue eyes, use hydrangeas or blue/purple flowers.

Always get a hat that fits properly.  Everyone has a different size head.  A hat that is properly fitted might cost more at first, but you will get more wear from it than a cheaper hat that is "one size fits all".

A good rule of thumb is never wear a hat that exceeds your shoulder length.  The taller and bigger the person, the bigger the hat they can wear.

For maximum effect, wear your hair pulled back to show off the hair and lipstick.

Make sure that your makeup doesn't clash with the hat.  A lavender hat looks great with purple or lavender eye shadow, but would look bad with bright green eye shadow.  Also match lipsticks.  A pink hat needs rose or pink lipstick, not orange.

Be ready to get compliments and more attention from people.  People love hats although many of them are too intimidated to wear them.  Men especially love women in hats and they will tell you so!

You can tilt the hat to one side to create a more jaunty effect.  If the hat goes up on one side, it is a bit more flattering to the face and creates more interest.

The most important thing is to feel comfortable with the hat you are wearing.  Never let anyone sell you on a hat you feel uncomfortable in.

Don'ts:

Don't wear a hat that is too big for you.  Petite women look good with smaller hats.  The woman should wear the hat, not the other way around!

Never wear the hat too far back on the head.  When putting it on, make sure that it is no more than 2 inches above the eyebrows.

Don't wear a hat with lots of flowers on it with a floral dress.  This would be too busy.  If the dress has a lot of print on it, wear a more simple hat.

Click here for more tips on choosing a hat for your face shape.

Tips on choosing a Bridal Headpiece and Veil

1.  Pick out your gown first.  The headpiece and veil should always compliment your gown.

2.  The tiara should match the proportions of your face.  Here's a guide:

Round face: To make your face appear longer, choose a tiara with some height or one that has a peak.

Long Face: Choose a headband or tiara with little or no height that extends over the head from one side to the other, in an even height.

Oval face: Avoid headpieces with a peak at the top as it will make the face appear longer.  Wearing a headband or back piece will make the face look less oval.

Full Face: To create the illusion of a longer face, wear a tiara that peaks in front.

3.  Match the type of sparkle in the wedding gown to the tiara and veil.  For example, use crystals with crystals and pearls with pearls.  If the gown has floral detail, look for a tiara with floral detail.  A contemporary, straight gown would look best with a tiara with straight, geometric lines.  If the dress has a rose pattern, a tiara with porcelain roses would be fine.  A tiara with only Austrian crystals will go with any gown.  A tiara with pearls should match either the gown or necklace.  Peal tiaras go well with off white or ivory gowns.

4.  The overall look of the tiara, dress, veil, and jewelry should tie in together.  No one piece should overwhelm the other.  Too many rhinestones takes away from the beauty of a dress or veil.  In addition, it does not photograph very well.  Remember, your wedding should convey an elegant, timeless, and tasteful look.

5.  Matching color tones is important.  Gold tone or ivory pearl accented tiaras are a nice compliment to ivory gowns, which are very in vogue this year.  Also, red heads and girls with light brown hair look good in the ivory and gold tones.  Silver tone, rhinestone, and white pearls work best with a white gown.  Platinum blondes and girls with dark hair look smashing in white, crystal, and silver accents.  Diamond white gowns can work well with either silver or gold.  Diamond white is the color between white and off-white.

6.  Match the style of the dress with the veil and tiara.  A more contemporary dress requires a more modern tiara and simple veil.  However, an antique gown or fairy tail style begs for a more antique style tiara.  Several tiara companies are making the vintage styles now. 

7.  Consider how you will wear your hair on the big day.  This really needs to be experimented on with your hairdresser.  If you have short hair, choose a lighter, more delicate tiara that won't require lots of pinning to keep in place.  If you have longer or thicker hair, a large tiara works better.

8.  Scale is important.  The more petite the bride, the smaller tiara and veil she should pick.  There is nothing worse than a petite bride weighed down by a dress with a large train, huge tiara, and cathedral veil.  A full circle veil that is shoulder or elbow length works nicely.  The taller the bride, the more veil and tiara she can wear.  A tall bride would look silly in a tiny tiara and little veil, unless she was going for a very pared-down look.

9.  Second time brides might want to pick a cocktail hat style or even a headband with a flower on it.  There are several alternatives besides the usual veil and tiara we see.  There are many attractive combs that look great.

All of our hats are made by hand in our Lexington studio. Usually hats ship within a week and arrive stylishly packaged in our signature hat box. The shipping fee for a hat is $29.00, though over-size hats, expedited or international shipping may incur additional charges. View our Returns Policy.