There’s a department store in the town of Rimini, where I used to go with my schoolmates, when the lesson finished before due time because the teacher of the last hour was absent. Among the departments we couldn’t miss there were the makeup and the hats. The last one was my favourite because I found it funny: as a volleyball player I used to wear sports outfits all days and the only makeup item I liked wearing was a lip gloss. My dear friend Nico, who has always had good taste in clothing, preferred the hats department and there we usually enjoyed ourselves, trying on any type of hats. The mirror reflected our fantasy and brought us to Ascot, where we were playing the role of one of the most beautiful and elegant women, Lady Diana. We tried on every hat till a shop assistant started to stare at us with that uncomfortable gaze.
Large or short brims, Borsalino or flat cap style, Nico was beautiful with everything, but I wasn’t instead. I started to believe that wearing a hat was only a game for me; actually the only thing I could see reflected in the mirror was my “beautiful nose”, with its small bump caused by an accident at school, which was for me a large hump. Since those days things have changed a lot. Now I seldom go to Coin shops with my friend Nico, when we find some free time for us. And it happens that I enter into the store with a hat already on! As you grow up you become wiser… well, you should… and you are willing to listen to General Winter who invites you to cover yourself during colder days. So I left aside my youth worries for a more positive attitude, the one that led me to discover the right hat for my face shape and lastly I found it, one of my best accessories that still today adds elegance and personality to my outfits. It’s a bowler type, with a round crown and a medium brim, dove grey colour, which is so in tune with the green of my eyes that you cannot even see that bump on the nose. It’s a clever hat and even manages to get a smile out of me, when I look myself in the mirror.
At this point I think you are bored enough with my memories, so much that your patience must be awarded with my wisdom pills, hoping you too could find your best hat.
Let’s start from the main point of my precious list. The hat must fit well on your head. Secondly, the general rule that states that petite women should wear hats in proportion to their size, while tall women can go for larger hats. Then it’s the turn of the choice of the type of hat according to the face shape and the need of creating good balance and harmony with accessories. Thus, round faces should avoid circular hats like cloches and go for Borsalino or Fedora styles with quite large brims that cast some shadows over the face and make the facial traits appear sharper. Conversely, thin faces risk to disappear under large brims and should go for small to medium brim hats. Square faces are at their best with hats with circular and full crowns, medium and asymmetrical brims that make straight features appear more gentle. Long faces should avoid top hats and go for round hats with large brims. Inverted triangle face shape should choose Borsalino hats with medium brims and tilt it on the face, while oval face shape can go for any style they like, providing they choose the colours that flatter their complexion.
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