Cattle Hats for Women: How to Rock a Rural Look

Tired of wearing the same three shirts with your cattle hats? Do you find yourself groaning with frustration every time you open your wardrobe?

Living the ranch lifestyle doesn't mean you have to wear the same thing every day, nor does it mean you can't create beautiful yet practical outfit combinations for your hats. In fact, you can do both while staying comfortable and creating outfits you'll feel confident in.

Thankfully, you don't need to spend a fortune to style your cowgirl hats in interesting ways. By following a few simple outfit tips, you can find your new favorite outfits and get the most wear out of your cattle hat.

Ready to start the day in style? Keep reading for our top tips on how to pick the right cattle hat, as well as some outfit ideas to inspire you today. 

Pick the Right Hat

Before you go picking an outfit for your hat, you'll want to make sure you get a hat you like. Otherwise, the hat will just end up sitting unworn in your closet.

Your hat should be comfortable, flattering, and practical for the work you do.

You also don't need to have a dozen different cattle hats. Having a few main hats in neutral colors is enough.

When choosing cowboy hats for women, you first want to learn the parts of the hat. This will help you choose the best hat for your face shape.

The parts of a cattle hat are:

Crown: The top part of the hat.

Crease: The pinch at the top that creates the hat's shape.

Brim: The wide, outer part of the hat that wraps around the crown.

Each of these three parts varies between each hat, and will determine which hat shape you'll think looks most flattering and will like best.

Shape

One great way to pick a flattering cattle hat is to take cues from your face shape.

This method also helps if you've bought cattle hats in the past and weren't able to figure out why they didn't look good on you.

Oblong

If you have a face shape that's long and thin (an oblong face shape), then you want to get a hat that has a medium-height crown. You want the hat to sit low on your forehead to create a good visual balance with your face shape.

If you get a hat with a very tall or very short crown, it could exaggerate your face shape in an unflattering way.

As for the brim, you want to get one that curves a bit for a more flattering look. You'll want to avoid straight brims, as they'll also exaggerate your face shape.

Round

For round face shapes, an angular hat works best to create visual balance.

This means getting a hat with a high crown. You can also get a slanted brim that draws the eye upward. A fun way to wear your hat if you have a round face shape is to slant or tilt the hat.

You want to avoid very round brims or crowns that are too round, as these will exaggerate your face shape. Instead, go for a hat that has a nice crease to add balance to the look.

Square

A square-shaped face means having a square jawline, strong cheekbones, and a wide forehead. 

These sharp features mean that the best hat is one with a rounded crown and curved brim. These shapes help soften your overall look and balance the sharp angles of your face.

Diamond

The diamond face shape has wide cheekbones, a short forehead, and a narrow jaw. This angular face shape looks best with hats that elongate your forehead and jaw.

To do this, pick a hat that has a wide or medium-sized brim. Pick a crown that's smaller so that it balances the look.

A floppy hat may not work well with a diamond face shape as the shadows it casts can elongate the shape of your face in an unflattering way.

Material

Next up, you want to choose the right material for your cattle hat. The most common materials for cattle hats include:

• Felt
• Straw
• Wool
• Leather

Out of these materials, felt and straw are the most common. Straw works best for those hot summer months, while felt is good for fall, winter, and even early spring depending on where you live.

Meanwhile, leather is a great option if you live somewhere where it rains a lot. Just make sure to take good care of the leather on your hat and keep it clean and moisturized with leather care products.

Wool is a warm option for a winter cattle hat. If you need to wash your wool hat, remember to wash it by hand and in lukewarm water so the wool doesn't shrink.

Choosing the right material is important because you want to have a hat that you'll reach for on most days, so choose the material carefully depending on the weather where you live.

Color

Cowgirl hats come in almost every color under the sun these days, but you want to go for a neutral color for everyday farm wear. 

If you wear lots of cool tones, think about getting an everyday cattle hat in black or dark gray. If you wear lots of warm tones, you can opt for brown or beige.

It's best to stick to a darker hat color for days working on the farm, as you never know when your hat could get muddy or dusty. Not only is a darker-colored hat less likely to stain, but any stains will be less noticeable. This makes your hat cleaning work a lot easier.

If you want to wear your hat while running errands, going into town, or looking a bit more dressed up going out to lunch with friends, you don't have to worry so much about dirt or dust getting on your hat. In this case, you can pick a classic shade of tan or beige to go with your look.

If you'll be in a horse or farm show, you'll want to pick a special hat for these occasions. You'll want this hat to stand out, so great color picks would be black, white, or brown with embroidery.

Hairstyles

If you already have a short hairstyle like a pixie cut, then there's no need to worry about how your hat looks with your hair.

But with hair that's at or below shoulder length, you'll want to consider how your hairstyle looks with your hat. You can opt for a simple ponytail or braid for workdays on the farm.

You could also try out some quick and easy work hairstyles and see which work best with a hat.

Now that we've looked at picking the right hat and the perfect hairstyle to go with it, let's take a look at how you can match your wardrobe to your beautiful new cattle hat for an amazing rural look. 

Choose Matching T-shirts

T-shirts are a vital staple for your closet as you can layer them or wear them by themselves on hot summer days.

Some of the best options for work shirts are cattle shirts specifically designed for ranchers. These are lightweight and made with lots of cotton to keep you comfortable on those physically active farm days.

You'll want to have a few staple t-shirts that you can interchange throughout the week. Having at least 8-10 lets you change throughout the day without having to do laundry too often.

When picking matching t-shirts for your hat, think about whether your hat is a warm tone (brown, beige) or a cool tone (black, gray). Then, pick t-shirts that match these tones for the most cohesive look.

Warm colors like orange, red, and olive green look great with beige or brown hats, while cool colors like blue and purple work well with gray or black hats.

Denim Days

Given its timelessness and durability, denim is a staple of the ranch lifestyle. 

Whether it's jeans, a denim shirt, or a denim jacket, this sturdy material fits perfectly with women's cattle hats.

You can opt for both light wash denim or dark wash denim with your hat. To create more balance in your outfit, try pairing dark denim with a lighter hat shade, and pair light wash denim with a darker hat shade.

You can also wear a denim shirt or jacket with a t-shirt underneath for easy layering in the spring or fall. Keep in mind that you can also wear a denim jacket with jeans, as long as the color is either the same or contrasting (e.g., dark wash jeans with a light wash jacket).

For an easy way to change up your look, you can give your cattle hat a break and wear a trucker hat in a similar color so that your outfit still matches.

Winter Outfits

For winter, you'll want to wear lots of layers underneath your jacket. This could be fleece or wool sweaters, which are guaranteed to keep you warm during the harsh winter months.

If you're doing labor-intensive work, you'll probably have to remove your jacket at some point to cool off. So to make your winter outfit work, make sure the layer underneath your jacket matches your cattle hat.

If you chose a hat in a neutral color, it shouldn't be too hard to match the color of your fleece or sweater to your hat, even if your sweater has stripes or patterns on it. This could also be a fun way to add some color to your outfit!

You can also accessorize your winter outfit with a warm scarf in a bright color like red to make it stand out while still staying practical.

Boots

You'll probably be wearing some sturdy work boots for your daily farm tasks, but that doesn't mean you can't match them to your hat.

Most boots for farm work come in either black or brown shades, with some incorporating both colors throughout the boot. Think about the colors of boots you already have, and then see what color hat would work well with it.

For example, if you have lots of brown work boots, then a black or light tan cattle hat would work best.

A brown hat would also work as long as the brown shade either matches the shade of brown on the boots or is different enough to give a complementary contrast.

A Day Out

While there's no doubt that running the farm is a 7-day-a-week job, you'll still get some time off to rest and socialize with friends so that you're ready for another energized workday.

So why not wear a cowgirl hat to elevate your look? Not only will you protect your face from the sun, but you'll proudly display your important job as a farmer while showing your sense of style at the same time.

For a day out to lunch with friends, you can style your hat with casual basics like jeans, a fitted t-shirt, and some elegant sneakers or flats.

You could also wear a printed shirt and a denim jacket for extra layers that are casual yet elegant. 

Whatever color combination you choose, make sure the colors go with your hat. If you find that you love wearing prints and bright colors on your time off, then a black or dark brown hat would be the most versatile pick.

Create a Standout Rural Look With Your Cattle Hats

Cattle hats are an essential part of a farmer's work wardrobe. Not only do they provide vital protection from the elements, but they embody a long history of hard work, tradition, and community.

And having two or three go-to cattle hats is perfect to help you create a stylish yet practical rural look.

Now that you know how to pick and style a cattle hat, why not get some new shirts to match it?

For clothing that keeps you comfortable and that inspires you to overcome life's obstacles, check out YNOT's catalog of women's shirts today.