Sizing

Measuring your head and hat size

A good fitting hat is a joy to wear whereas an ill fitting hat is just the opposite, so it’s important to be able to measure your head correctly to get a well fitting hat, particularly if you are buying online.

Hat sizes are calculated by measuring the circumference of your head about ½ inch (1.3 cm) above the ears. Inches or centimetres are used depending on the hat manufacturer or if it’s new or vintage.

If you are in between two sizes, choose the bigger size. You can always pad out a hat to make it smaller.

If some adjustment is needed then felt hats can be stretched or some hats are adjustable such as hard hats and baseball caps. Cheap hats come in standard sizes such as small, medium and large.

Traditional hat size is worked out by adding the fore and aft and side-to-side measurements in inches then dividing by two.

In the United Kingdom, an equivalent hat size is an eighth of an inch smaller than that of the United States.

Measuring your hat size

• Get a soft tape measure
• Put it around your head, mid-forehead and just above the ears
• Measure in inches and/or centimetres

International hat size chart