If you are reading this article it means you are a proper hat buff like the rest of us. And with that being said, we are sure that you have more than 5 hats in your ownership. It’s simple – once you go the hat way, there is no going back. And that’s okay. But, the chances are your hat collection will increase in the years to come and therefore, the amount of space you’ll need to store them will suddenly become an issue.

And, truth to be said, hats require a fair amount of space. Depending on which type of hats you like (we will cover this topic in another article), they can take more or less space. For example, if you are a hardcore Mexican and like sombreros that are 1 meter in diameter, you may face an issue if you would like to store more than one of them. But, if you like beanies for an example, you can store more of them in a smaller amount of space than the sombreros. You get the point. Therefore, the main topic of this article will be to give you different ways to store your hats in order to save up some space. Believe us when we say that no one stopped on one hat and it’s better to be safe than sorry when your hat collecting hobby becomes an obsession. 

In the paragraphs below, we’ll cover some of the best ways to store your hats. Keep in mind that there are probably tons of other tips and tricks you can use to store hats but the ones listed below are the most common. 

Types of Hats

Before we dive into the concept of storing hats, first we need to take a look into what are the different hat types we can distinguish. Yea, we know. This isn’t something you are interested in, but trust us, it’s important. First of all, there are the classic ones. Think of Fedora, Trilby or Panama hat. They’ve been around for ages and have a legendary status. If you wear any of these, you simply can’t look bad. Then there are snapbacks, dad hats, and famous baseball hats. Those are modern hat types and are often used in daily life. In contrast to them, you would look weird if you would wear a fedora with a hoodie. Then there are flat caps and newsboy caps. They are usually called “smart casual style” hats which basically means that they can be used every day. They are something in between Fedora hats which are very stylish and baseball caps which can be used with a tracksuit. 

In the end, we have beanies and other winter type hats. They are in a bracket of their own and pretty much have nothing to do with the rest of the hats. Now, keep in mind that these are the most basic hats out there. If we are to dive into the whole hat segmentation it would take us hours to finish naming all of them. And, truth to be told, you don’t need to know every single one of them. Chances are that the hat or hats you may own are in some group mentioned above and that’s enough. Now that we explained in short terms what are some of the most basic hats out there, we can dive into the problem of storing them. It’s an issue that has been talked about a lot in the past and with the advanced technology in the 21st century, one could not but ask if now there is a perfect way to store hats? Let’s find out. 

Hat Boxes

Pretty self-explanatory right? Hat boxes. A box that is used to store a hat. And yes, it’s simple as that. It has been proven that hat boxes are the most effective and convenient way to store hats. Depending on which type of hat you have (fedora, sun hat, sombreros…) the box that is used as storage can be bigger or smaller. Now, it might seem a bit weird that in order to store a hat you should use a box that is even bigger than a hat itself. But, hear this. In most cases, hats are very sensitive and if they aren’t handled in a good manner, they can be short living. The dust can get to them and if not stored correctly, they can bend and in worst cases stay like that forever.

This is where boxes come as a lifesaver. In most cases, if you buy a quality hat, it will come with a box provided. But, if the case is you don’t have a pairing box, you can get one made pretty easily or buy one online. If you don’t really care about the look of your box, you can use an old shoebox or a plastic one as well. 

The important thing about hats and boxes is that you always need to place the hat upside down in the box. Why? Well because you want to preserve the shape of it. Also, another tip is that if you don’t have many boxes available, but you do own a lot of hats – buy a box that is perfect for the biggest hat you own. By doing this, you can be sure that all the other hats will fit as well inside. 

Wall Hooks

Wall hooks are a great alternative to hat boxes if you want your hats to be available at any given time and to save some spice meanwhile. You want to be amazed at your hats every time you look at them? Hooks are a great choice. The main aspect of why many people pick hooks over hat boxes is that hooks are easier to get and are easy to maintain. Also, the flexibility it offers is a plus too. But, there are some very important tips you should take into consideration if you opt for hooks.

First of all, the hooks shouldn’t be sharp. If they are, they can damage the inside of the hat and that’s something we want to avoid. Secondly, don’t place hooks on direct sunlight. Sun can be pretty harsh to the hats and can “bleach” them meaning they can lose their color. Also, find hooks that are curved. If you have flat ones, hats may fall off and then the whole point of hooks is lost. They should be curvy enough to make the hat in place so that it doesn’t fall off and that it’s easy to take when you are going out. Also, keep in mind that not all hats are suited for hooks. The ones that are made out of leather or other materials that are easily deformed should be stored on hooks. On the other hand, baseball caps or other soft hats that don’t lose their shape easily are ideal for this kind of storage. 

What also needs to be mentioned is that hooks shouldn’t be placed near one another. Yes, we do want to save space but at the same time, what we don’t want to do is to create a mess out of our wall and cover it with all of our hats. The distance between single hooks should be enough to keep the hats separated and ensure that they don’t touch.

Drawers

Drawers are a great way to store hats and keep them off the sight of visitors. Not everyone would like to see a bunch of hats laying around the house and therefore if you have a deep drawer, you can place hats inside it. What’s good about drawers is that they protect the hats for dust and sunlight while offering easy access to them at any given time. They are kind of a mixture of hat boxes and hooks. Many people use drawers as the main type of hat storage. It’s just that they don’t have wall hooks or hatboxes around, but what the do have are drawers which are the next best thing. 

Hat Racks

We live in the 21st century and it’s a no shock that someone made up a special invention for hat storage. It’s called a hat rack. In a nutshell, it’s very simple to hat hooks. Every rack is made of a metal or a plastic bar that is placed on the wall and has various ropes hanging from it. On every rope, there are clamps that are used to hold the hats in place. You can buy such racks from many online stores but if you have some spare time and love to play around your household, you can make one by yourself. It’s a simple DIY project that looks very modern and minimalistic at the same time. Also, what’s good is that you can have more than one hat rack. As your collection grows, you can make more racks if needed. 

Organizers

Hat organizers have become more and more popular in the last couple of years. They are extremely cheap and offer good storage ability while taking a small amount of space. The most common one is called a door hanger. It’s basically a rope that has some clippers on it which can hold your caps. You place the hanger on the inside of your bedroom door and voila! They are best used with baseball caps.

Another way to organize your hats is under your bed. In most cases, your bed has some sort of drawer which can be used to organize various things. You can place hats here as well. There is almost always enough space for all of them to go inside and such a drawer is often deep enough so you shouldn’t worry that your hat will get deformed.

Another way to store your hats is with the help of head molts. Now, just to be clear, this can be super weird and we personally don’t recommend this. But, at the same time, these molds are very effective at keeping your hat in shape and many people use it. It’s just that it’s very weird to use a plastic head to store your hate. And, imagine having more than one of them laying around your apartment. And your crush comes in…Yea, it’s weird. But, if you think that they are convenient and you are into those kinds of things, you should try them out. 

Nesting

If you don’t have any space, then you should store your hats with a technique called nesting. Basically, the whole point of it is to store hats inside each other. Every hat has a space for the head right? It’s called brim. And thus, one brim can go inside another brim if you place it above the first one. Pretty straightforward. You can repeat this process a couple of times and what you’ll get is a few hats stacked up. This type of storage will keep them safe and sturdy while not taking too much space at the same time.

Chances are you knew about many of the ways of storing above. And if you didn’t, you know them now. Most of them are very simple and can be used wherever you are. But, what we didn’t mention but we think is extremely important is to magnify the importance of the hats in general. All of this might seem like a waste of time if you don’t want your hats to last long. If you do, however, storing them is a must. There are 2 things every single hat is most afraid of – sun and deformity. And when you know this, you can connect the dots and see that every single storing type mentioned above is good. Why? Well, it protects your hat from the sunlight and ensures that it doesn’t get deformed. Those are the two main aspects of legendary craftsmanship called hat storing. And, if you want to come up with your own solution about storing hats, those are the things you need to keep in mind.