After a long hiatus from the forefront of anyone’s wardrobe, hats are making a comeback—and we’ve already amassed quite a few (dozen). While one hat once proudly sat atop our rarely used desk, now the pile that is our current collection is looking pretty sad—and uncomfortable—these days. Unlike a T-shirt that you can throw in the wash if it wrinkles in a pile on your floor, hats are less forgiving of mistreatment. Once straw starts to cave, baseball caps warp, and appliques bend, there’s little you can do to save the once-pristine topper. That’s why it’s more important than ever to store your hats correctly from the get-go and prevent any unnecessary wear and tear on your new wardrobe staples.
As your collection continues to grow, we’re telling you how to store hats—from oversize straw for the beach to sporty canvas styles to cashmere beanies and baseball caps alike. And if you’re in the market for a few more (and now know how to best care for the ones you already have!), shop some of our favorite new styles below.
Baseball Caps
Fold them in half, bringing the back inwards towards the front, and stack them in neat lines. If you have enough drawer space, you can certainly take advantage of these now easily storable caps, but they’ll do just as fine on a shelf or dresser top if that’s where you have the most real estate.
Straw Hats
A huge summer favorite (quite literally—some of these brims are larger than we are!), they’re among our most delicate of head-toppers. While some are marketed as packable, still be wary: Once these crack or break, they’re extremely difficult to fix. We suggest taking advantage of the gorgeous styles you’ve collected and displaying them on the wall, hung on hooks like your grandmother used to do.
Beanies
Flatten these year-round favorites down and stack them in piles. We highly recommend sticking them on a shelf where you can see all the colors together, instead of in a basket or drawer, so you can most easily select your hat of the day when you want a little extra pop.
Felt and Wool Hats
These are best when stuffed to keep their shape. Though they’re not as fragile as your woven beach hats, they’re tough to bring back to life when they’re gone flat. Hat boxes are helpful if you have enough space to store them this way, as you can then throw them on the ground or in the back of your closet, but if you’re a little more pressed for square footage, they should be stood along on shelves with nothing pushing them into one another.
Berets
Berets are coming back with fervor this season, so it’s time we learned how to give them the longest life possible. With just a little bit of tissue on the inside, these malleable toppers will easily preserve their shape. As they don’t weigh a lot and are flexible in nature, you can stack these in a line or on top of one another with no problem after you’ve given them that little bit of tissue-filled assistance.
Now that you know how to properly store all your favorite toppers, it’s time to stock up on some new styles!