“Wear a wool hat on a cold day or forty percent of your body heat will escape though your head.” How many times have you heard this expression and wondered if it really is fact or fiction.  Mmmh…possibly a ‘hat trick’ devised by a frustrated mother standing at the front door with a handful of winter headgear in her hands.  Apparently this piece of hat wearing advice dates back to a 1970′s survival manual printed for the U.S. army.  But on days when the thermometer dips into the minus double digits, do you really want to take time to re-think the urban legend?

Have a look at some of the latest trends in hats-

The history of the ‘beret’ dates back to the Bronze Age, primarily worn by artists and aristocrats.  Now its one of the most prevalent hat styles thanks to an adjustable fit, easily shaped to either side or pulled to the back.  A big winner with those who want to avoid ‘hat head’.  Murmur Beret by Louisa Harding is knit in Millais, a rustic wool blend, in fourteen tweedy shades.

Purl ridges add pizzazz to this face-framing style knit in Malabrigo Merino Worsted.  A weekend project and what could be more lovely than starting off a new knitter with a skein of this luxurious hand dyed merino wool from a palette dripping with colour.  Simply irresistible with one hundred and twelve choices.

Look for this retro beauty, an enchanting addition to your winter wardrobe, in a delicious pairing of two sister yarns from the Louisa Harding Collection.  Grace Hand Beaded is the ultimate fantasy yarn in a mixture of silk, merino and glass beads, while Grace Hand Dyed accentuates the positive with patina and sheen.

The ‘cloche’ is a close-fitting bell-shaped hat originally designed in 1908 by milliner Caroline Reboux.  Flattering shorter hair lengths, the cloche grew in popularity during the 1920′s when cropped cuts were all the rage.  Today it has re-emerged as a fashion favorite, featured in the Diamond Luxury Collection Booklet #1478, knit in Galway Highland Heathers, a worsted wool in twenty-nine melange tones.

Twists and twirls accent the Saffron Beret, knit in Willow Tweed, a slubby silk, merino and alpaca mix from Louisa Harding, offered in twenty-two shades of elegance.

The Floribunda Flower Hat knit in Lustrous Extra Fine Merino DK has extra fullness to compliment all face shapes.  Urban chic for the younger crowd.

The ‘slouchy’ hat, caps off our list as the hat of the season.  Spotted on celebs in Aspen and on the streets of L.A, its a cross between a floppy beret and a ski toque.  Knit in natural undyed alpaca from Viking Garn, and right on trend with a fairisle motif.

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 14th, 2012 at 2:14 pm.