FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
CAN I WEAR MY HAT IN THE RAIN?
Outside of a few rain hats most hats are water repellent NOT waterproof. A light rain shower, drizzle, even a little snow will not destroy most felt hats. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are not good for felt hats. Straw hats (made of natural fibers) should NEVER be worn in the rain. A straw hat will not maintain it's shape in wet weather. If you do get caught without an umbrella, once you get indoors always snap your brim up. Next, try to find somewhere to hang your hat so that the sides of the brim are not touching anything. Hat/coat racks always work, even the backs of chairs. Let all hats and caps dry naturally away from heat. If a hat should fall victim to mother nature don't throw it away. You can always bring it to us and we'll see if we can fix it.
HOW DO I TAKE CARE OF MY HATS?
We find the best way to store a hat is in a hat box away from any heat source. You can line the bottom of the box with odorless cedar chips to prevent moth holes in felt hats. Try not to grab your hat at the pinches, instead put your hat on and take it off by grabbing both sides of the brim. We sell hat brushes that you can use to occasionally clean your felt hats. In most cases we can refurbish your hats (i.e., steaming, shaping, band changes, etc.) at our store.
HOW DO I KNOW MY HAT SIZE?
You can find out your hat size by taking a cloth tape measure and wrapping around your head right above your eyebrows and right above the tops of your ears. For with sizing and conversions please see our Size Chart. Please call us with any further questions you might have.
CAN I STRETCH MY HAT?
If your hat needs more of a stretch than a Hat Holder can safely provide, please feel free to shoot us an email with any pictures and dimensions for a closer inspection.
For hats needing more than 3/4 size (7mm+) of a stretch, depends on the inner structure (sweatband) and material (rigidity and age) of the hat. It is not advised to stretch straw hats more 7mm. Attempting to stretch anything past safety limitations can risk damaging the sweatband, warp the overall integrity of the brim, and put indentations in the crown. The older the hat is can also limit the extent to which we can safely stretch.
It is also important to take into consideration a hat's tendency to shrink back to its original blocked shape, overtime. Perspiration, temperature fluctuation from improper storing, and exposure to sunlight or rainwater can have troublesome effects on fit. So, store your hat in a cooler place (not too cold), away from humidity and sunlight, and try to be conscious of how much you're sweating when wearing it.
If continual shrinking is a problem, that can be normal. Additional attention to the Hat Holder can help with this. Or, next time around, get something the next size up and include with it a strip or two of the Cotton Sizing! Always better to go the next size up and "size it in," than try to get something smaller to fit.