How to Wear a Bucket Hat: Fit, Size and Styling

Person in a caramel brown Kangol corduroy bucket hat, olive jacket and beige cargo trousers at the rim of a concrete skatepark bowl

How to wear a bucket hat comes down to two things: the right size and a brim that frames your face. A bucket hat is a soft hat whose brim runs all the way around and slopes downward. There's nothing to adjust at the back, so you buy it in your head size and the size alone decides how it sits.

At CapUniverse, a streetwear cap shop from Germany, bucket hats rank 5 among our best-selling product types (last 90 days). A bucket hat from our own line sits at rank 7 of our most-requested single products over 365 days.

What a Bucket Hat Is: All-Round Brim, Flat Crown, No Closure

Woman in a navy Kangol washed-cotton bucket hat with white kangaroo logo, grey hoodie and navy workwear jacket by a concrete underpass

The navy hat in the picture is Kangol's Washed Bucket Hat. It's made of lightweight washed cotton (100% cotton) and it's unlined. Its brim measures about 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in), and an embroidered kangaroo logo sits on the front.

You can spot a bucket hat by its brim: it runs all the way around and slopes downward, so the hat frames your face from every side. Unlike a bucket hat, a cap has a visor at the front only. The shape is named after an upturned bucket.

The crown is the part that sits over your head. Kangol lists the crown of its buckets as "Flat", meaning a flat top. At the back there's no closure and nothing to adjust.

Want to see how the bucket hat compares with other shapes? Check Cap Styles – The Variety at a Glance.

How a Bucket Hat Should Fit and Which Size to Get

Man in a plain sand-coloured bucket hat worn level above the brows, cream fleece half-zip and brown puffer vest on a rooftop parking deck

The sand-coloured hat in the picture is a plain bucket hat with no logo anywhere, worn level with the brim just above the brows. Since nothing can be adjusted, you buy it in your head size, and that's the whole fit.

Measuring your head in three steps

Put a tape measure around your head, above the ears.
Run it across the middle of your forehead.
Read the number in centimetres and take the size whose range covers it.

Bucket hat size chart in cm

Kangol sizes its bucket hats by head circumference:

Size	Head circumference
S	54–55 cm
M	56–57 cm
L	58–59 cm
XL	60–61 cm
XXL	62–63 cm

Stetson works the same way. Its Patchwork 181 Bucket Cloth Hat comes in M (56–57 cm) and L (58–59 cm).

How deep the brim sits on your head

Because the brim runs all around, it sits at roughly the same height over your whole head. Pull the hat down and it covers more of your forehead. Push it back and it shows more of your face. Neither is a rule, so pick the look that matches your vibe.

Bucket Hat Fabrics: Which Material Gives Which Look

Kangol builds the same bucket shape in very different fabrics: washed cotton, its textured Bermuda material, corduroy, denim, wool, faux fur and ripstop. Kangol is among our five best-selling brands, at rank 5 over the last 90 days. Browse the range in our Kangol collection.

Washed cotton: Kangol's Washed Bucket Hat is lightweight and unlined, a single soft layer.
Terry: a looped, textured surface, like towelling. Kangol's Bermuda Bucket uses the brand's own Bermuda material, which Kangol describes as terry-like.
Corduroy: a ribbed weave you recognise by its parallel ridges. It's a weave, not a fibre. The caramel Kangol hat at the top of this guide is corduroy.
Linen blend: Stetson's Patchwork 181 Bucket Cloth Hat is 64% linen, 28% silk and 8% cotton.
Ripstop: a light woven fabric with a reinforcing grid woven into it. Kangol's Multi-Utility Packable Bucket uses a water-repellent lightweight ripstop.

What lined, unlined and packable change in practice

An unlined bucket hat is a single layer of fabric. That's why it folds flat and fits into a jacket pocket or bag.

Kangol's Multi-Utility Packable Bucket has a hidden pocket at the inner crown. Fold the hat, turn it inside out, and it packs into that pocket.

Stetson's Patchwork 181 has a cotton lining, unlike the unlined Kangol Washed and Bermuda buckets. It's packable too and springs back into shape. Its brim is about 5 cm and its crown about 9 cm. Find it in our Stetson collection.

How to Wear a Bucket Hat: Colour, Reversible Hats and Brim Width

Woman in a coral Kangol terry bucket hat with a charcoal puffer jacket and black trousers at a tram stop

The coral hat in the picture is Kangol's Bermuda Bucket, made from the brand's textured, terry-like Bermuda material. It's unlined and has a brim of about 6 cm (2 3/8 in). In the photo it's the only colour in the outfit, worn with a charcoal puffer, a black hoodie and wide black trousers.

That's one easy way to own it: let the hat be the statement and keep the rest low-key.

Reversible hat: two looks, one shape

A reversible hat is made of two outer fabrics, one on each side, so you can turn it inside out. On Kangol's Flip It Reversible Casual, one side is Bermuda yarn and the reverse is Tropic yarn, each side in a different colour. Turn it and the second fabric and colour are on the outside, while the shape stays the same. Each side carries the kangaroo logo on the front.

Logo to the front

On logo models, the embroidered logo marks the front, which is how you see which way round the hat goes on. On the Washed Bucket Hat, the Bermuda Bucket and the Flip It, that marker is the kangaroo. Plain hats without a logo, like the sand-coloured one further up, have no such marker.

Brim width and your profile

The three models in this guide with a listed brim width are built with brims of around 5 to 6 cm: the Washed Bucket Hat about 5.7 cm, the Bermuda Bucket about 6 cm and the Stetson Patchwork 181 about 5 cm. That isn't a standard for every bucket hat. In profile, a wider brim covers more of your face than a narrower one.

More bucket hat shapes from New Era

New Era splits its bucket hats into several silhouettes, among them Bucket, Stretch bucket, Adventure bucket, Explorer bucket and Panama bucket. Check them out in our New Era collection, or browse every shape in our Bucket Hats collection.

Planning a long day outside? Read We're getting you festival-ready: Caps, bucket hats, and scarves for long days outdoors.

Bucket Hat FAQ: Fit, Size and Which Way Round

How should a bucket hat fit?

In your head size, because there's nothing to adjust at the back. The size alone decides how it sits. Pulled down, the brim covers more of your forehead. Pushed back, it shows more of your face.

What size bucket hat should I get?

The size whose centimetre range covers your head circumference. Measure around your head above the ears and across the middle of your forehead. At Kangol, S is 54–55 cm, M is 56–57 cm, L is 58–59 cm, XL is 60–61 cm and XXL is 62–63 cm.

Which way round do you wear a bucket hat?

Logo to the front. On models with an embroidered logo, the logo marks the front of the hat. Plain hats without a logo have no such marker.

Can you fold a bucket hat?

Yes, an unlined one folds flat. An unlined bucket hat is a single layer of fabric, so it fits into a jacket pocket or bag. Some models are built to be packable, like Kangol's Multi-Utility Packable Bucket or the lined Stetson Patchwork 181.