When I travel for no matter what length of time, especially if it’s somewhere warm, I’m packing hats. I love how it instantly completes a look and also helps to keep the sun off your face. Even when I pack just a carry on (which I need to somehow figure out how to do for my upcoming 10 day trip to Europe) I manage to always bring a hat. And sometimes multiple! When we went to the south of France this summer I packed not one but two hats for the trip in my carry-on. They honestly do not take up much space at all. It’s simply about a technique for getting it to fit and also to keep them looking good.
How To Pack Hats In Your Suitcase
Step 1
I like to use packing cubes (I use these) for the majority of my clothing. I typically line the bottom of my suitcase with the cubes as my base.
Step 2
Add your hat smack in the middle of it all. Have the opening facing you as pictured above. You should have space on all sides of the hat (the brim can touch the sides of the suitcase, that’s fine!). If you’re bringing multiple hats, be sure you’re bringing ones that can easily fit inside one another. If you can’t I recommend skipping the additional hat. Or wear it.
Step 3
Stuff the inside of the hat with little things like maybe your bathing suits, underwear, scarves and so on. I usually also put my jewelry here and sunglasses.
Step 4
Line the sides of the hat, below the brim, with more clothing. Not all of my stuff will end up in a packing cube, so I leave these items to place around the entire hat filling in the space leading up to the brim. You can see in the second photo that I’m filling the sides of the hat with rolled up tees, jeans and so on. Make sure to do your best to keep the shape of your hat while doing this. You don’t want to push the brim up too much or down or it will damage the hat. This may mean folding some things, rolling others and strategically placing items in-between like a puzzle piece.
Step 5
Put a layer on top! I like to place one last layer on top of the hat to seal it all in. Typically this is a pair of folded jeans or a sweatshirt. I always pack a lightweight sweatshirt when I travel no matter what and they don’t take up a ton of space. I just like to have a barrier between the hat and the suitcase as the other side of a suitcase may have zippers and I don’t want them to destroy the hat.
There you have it! Your favorite hat packed for a getaway the right way. Hats are usually fairly thin so they really don’t take up a ton of space at all. You just have to pack it smart and keep it safe!
Must Have Hat Accessory For When You Land
Now that you’ve landed and you want to wear your hats around, there’s a must have hat accessory you can’t forget to pack. It’s a TopTote. It’s the most genius invention that I swear by and could not live without. It’s the perfect hat clip that clips onto your bag and has a super strong magnet on it to clasp your hat with. This little invention is great for when you’re out and about and just don’t want to wear your hat anymore. You know the feeling, you’re sick of wearing it, or its super windy, so you just want to take it off. Instead of worrying about losing it, you just clip it to your bag. Voila, your hat is perfectly safe!
