Can a man wear a hat without looking old?

By: Annalisa Armitage

Hats for men this season are the ‘new black’ and have been seen on everyone from Jude Law to Justin Timberlake and Colin Farrell. If done right, they can be a fantastic accessory for every face shape, however, apart from the baseball caps which are extremely boring and can only be warn with very casual outfits, every other hat seems to have the tendency to make the wearer look old.

This is not really a problem for young men under 25, who are obviously youthful, however, once a man reaches 35, and starts to get a few grey hairs, wrinkles, and possibly starts balding, wearing things that make you look older is just not a good look and It’s a very fast way to go from 35 to 45.

Have you ever fancied yourself in a Panama, Fedora or Trilby, or even bought one on an impulse, but have never been able to pull off the look in public? Then read on.

Why do hats make you look old? It is probably something that stemmed from the 1920’s to the mid 1960’s when everyone wore a hat, this era has been immortalised in pictures and films, so wearing a hat makes you look like you are from that bygone era and therefore old. But didn’t they look dapper in the 20's? Indelibly printed in our minds is the picture of the ‘Dancing Man’ celebrating the end of World War 2 on George Street in Sydney. His hat in one hand raised to the air to  signify his joy. Hats are icons of a bygone era and when we see one we think of that era.

So back to the question how do we wear a hat without looking like an old man? Take a look at the two pictures on the right, one with the hat and one without. Exactly the same outfit, absolutely nothing wrong with it, beautifully fitting Hugo Boss cashmere Jacket, nice pullover, expensive well fitted Baubridge and Kay shirt, jeans tailored to fit perfectly, nice shoes. Then, when we add the hat in the picture on the right, it just makes Adam look older.

The way to pull off a hat is to steer away from classically styled clothes that may have been around in the earlier part of last century, and wear clothes that are up to date and fashionable; possibly a colourful shirt with a print pattern. (No stripes or checks) some trendy shoes, a waistcoat can be cool (these have always been around but were usually worn under a jacket) and If you can pull off a scarf with a different pattern, all the better. (Remember; when combining 2 patterns, always use a pattern of the same scale)

Now look at the picture on the right; it's Adam again, however this time he is looking a lot younger, with the exact same hat. This time he is wearing a beautiful patterned shirt, and waistcoat, the scarf is a nice Hugo Boss number, notice the pattern on the scarf is the same basic size as the pattern on the shirt, also you may notice we have tilted the hat so that the angle of the brim matches the angle of his shoulders, trendy shoes finish off the look.

So in summary if you want to pull off a hat without looking old, you have to get the right clothes to go with it. You need to get the right hat, and you have to wear it in a way that it suits your face and body shape.

Annalisa Armitage is a professional image consultant based in Sydney Australia, she can help you design an image that works for you, for more information visit My Image Consultant or call 0413898776.