How to Travel With Hats + The Best Ways to Pack Them
From baseball caps and bucket hats to straw sun hats and wool fedoras, hats are a great fashion accessory for everyday wear — plus they’re perfect for keeping you looking stylishly cool and protect you from the sun's rays while traveling!
While packable hats are easy to pack in your luggage when traveling, they don't offer much when it comes to styling options. But honestly, who wants a limit on what accessories they can wear? But how do you travel with a hat or multiple hats without damaging them? Fear not because I'm sharing all of the ways you can still bring your favorite hats with you when you travel while keeping them safe and damage-free!
The best ways to travel with hats
Hats are not only a stylish fashion accessory, but they also offer great sun protection when you're on the go. However, due to their size, they can be a bit awkward to travel with. So, what's the best way to travel with a hat? What about more than one hat? Don't fret, I'm sharing multiple options that will help you rock your stylish hat(s) while you're on the go!
Wear your hat
To keep your hat free from damage while traveling, I recommend wearing it rather than carry it. This will help to not only keep its shape but also there’s no way you can lose it — plus you’ll look super chic walking through the airport with a stylish hat on your head!
stack your hats on your head
If you’re traveling with hats and you don’t have anything to pack them in, then your best option is to stack them and wear them on your head until you get to your destination’s accommodation. This may sound super silly and trust me, you will get some stares — but desperate times call for desperate measures! Again, by wearing your hat(s) you reduce the chance of damaging or losing them so while you might feel a little ridiculous, unless you have something to store them in, this is your best option.
Use a hat clip to secure your hat to your bag
One of my favorite travel accessories is a hat clip! While these can only hold one hat at a time, a hat clip allows you safely store your hat by your side by clipping it to your purse, beach bag, backpack, travel tote, weekender bag, or any other type of bag! By clipping your hat to your bag you can take it wherever you go and easily take it off the clip to wear whenever you please!
Travel with a bag that has a hat strap
Travel bags with hat straps are new to the scene so there aren't too many options to choose from but there are a fair bit of options to choose from like these beach bag and travel tote styles below! If I were to choose any bag though it would be the Leather Hat Carrying Tote from Gigi Pip - it's super chic, has a lot of space, features interior pockets, and secures your hat safely with its U-shape strap design!
The best ways to pack your hats for travel
Whether you’re traveling with just one hat or multiple hats, you know that unless you’re actively wearing or carrying it, you’re going to need to find a way to bring it with you without it getting crushed or bent. So, what's the best way to pack hats for travel? I’m sharing the two best ways to pack your hats for travel without damaging them!
How to pack a hat in a suitcase
Whether you're looking to pack a sun hat, a stiff-brim hat, or a baseball cap, the biggest issue with packing a hat is damaging it while traveling. The best way to pack your hat into your carry on or checked suitcase without crushing or bending it is to make sure you keep your hat’s shape by packing your items both inside and around the hat. Bucket hats, baseball caps, and fabric hats are easier to pack since they're made of softer fabric — just stuff some small clothing items like socks and underwear inside to form to its shape and then pack the rest of your clothing around it. Just be careful when packing a baseball cap, don't place anything heavy on the bill or you may permanently bend it. When packing wide-brim and other stiff hats like fedoras and sun hats, roll up some clothing items like underwear or t-shirts and stuff them inside the hat crown to help keep the shape, then lay the hat flat brim side down inside your suitcase. You can then continue to roll or fold your clothes as normal and pack the items neatly around the brim to cushion it. Keep the heaviest items on the brim to keep it pressed flat, and to avoid crushing the top of the hat crown. For added safety, try placing something flat and stiff underneath your hat’s brim to keep it from bending — like a piece of cardboard. You can also pack your hat upside down with the hat crown side down. Also, try to avoid packing anything that may leak onto or stain your hat. For added safety, you can always wrap your hat in a plastic bag.
Pack hats in a hat box or a hat case
If you know me then you know I not only have a large hat collection, but I'm always traveling with more than one hat. For the longest time, I've resorted to stacking them on my head or in my car, but all that changed when hat boxes came onto the scene! Hat boxes and hat cases are the perfect way to store multiple hats while also keeping their original shape intact. Having them packed safely inside a container makes traveling with hats much easier and more convenient! If you are only packing a couple of hats, I highly recommend this hat travel case! If you're packing more than 3 hats, definitely look for something larger! I’ve linked some of the best hat boxes and travel hat cases below!
Personally, I think your best options for traveling with a hat is to secure it to your bag using a hat clip or to pack your hat into your suitcase if you're not planning on wearing it right away. If you’re traveling with multiple hats, I would highly recommend storing your hats in a hat box to keep them safe and to free up space in your luggage.
How to fix a bent hat while traveling
Sometimes no matter what you do, a hat will still suffer some type of damage. The good news is, you can easily fix it while you’re traveling, all you need is a travel steamer! Aside from keeping your clothing wrinkle-free while you’re on the go, you can use a travel steamer to help reshape and straighten your hat to keep it looking good as new! Wool hats are easier to manipulate than straw, so just be aware that some hats may take a little more work than others to fix.
Don’t have a travel steamer? Here are some tips to fix your hat: Keep your hat in the bathroom while you take a hot shower, the steam should help to soften the fabric so you can try to straighten and mold it back into shape. You can also lie your hat on something flat like a table and place heavy items around the brim to flatten and straighten it.
My favorite hats for travel
Whether it's a baseball cap for a casual airport outfit or a stylish straw sun hat for a tropical beach getaway, I'm sharing my most worn best hats and favorite travel hats below for you to shop!
Whether you're looking for sun protection, a cover-up for bad hair days, or just want to up your style game, hats are a perfect travel accessory! No matter if you're traveling by plane or car, these travel tips should help to ease your worries about how to travel with a hat on your next trip! Now, grab your beautiful hat (or hats) and get going!
