Home Try-On: Three Packable Straw Hats Under $100

The Quest: Find a stunning hat for summer.

The catch? It has to be able to bounce back after 24 hours of being crammed into my travel bag.

For some background: I’ve never really been what you’d call a “hat person.” I don’t like losing my peripheral vision or having to deal with the awkward off-on dance that hat people sometimes find themselves doing when entering and exiting a building. Sure, in the winter I’ll grumble and toss on a beanie, but in the summer my go-to accessory is a dark pair of sunglasses and the occasional baseball cap if we’re heading to do something sporty. But I’m growing older, and with that, I’m growing much more concerned about sun damage to my fair and freckly skin on regular day-outings too. I figured it was finally time to add a more polished and grown-up hat to my wardrobe as well. But what kind of hat could I feel comfortable in without feeling like I’m playing “dress up?”

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The answer came while we were in Mexico City in April, walking down Calle Génova toward Paseo de la Reforma on a car-free Sunday. Suddenly, a woman hurried by in a dress and a straw hat. I never saw her face, but she looked utterly chic in her outfit – and something clicked. Much of my wardrobe is based on quality fabrics, neutral colors, and sheer practicality. Adding a hat that follows those same guidelines would make it a much more natural fit, but I needed to find one that can stand the rough-and-tumble world of travel – and not just sit pretty on my wall or shelf until I need it.

Enter the world of packable straw hats.

Yes, you can bring along a standard hat and clip it to your luggage, but there is a multitude of packable hats on the market in any size, shape, and material you can imagine. You can find them on Amazon for less than $20 if you desire; as someone with experience succumbing to cheap Amazon fashion items, I knew what I’d receive would look way different than the photo, and that it wouldn’t last more than a trip or two. On the other hand, I didn’t want to spend a fortune on a new accessory either; as much as I’d love a gorgeous hat like this one from Janessa Leoné, I just can’t quite justify the expense.

A quick note: this post is not sponsored but does contain affiliate links; I paid for all of these myself.

So I turned to three retailers I more-or-less consider to be good intersects of value and quality: J. Crew, Madewell, and Cuyana to order three hats with a price tag under $100 (2022 edit: one of these hats is now more than $100). Today I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the quality and style of each hat, how they fared in my packing test, and which (if any) I decided to add to my wardrobe. So, let’s get right to the bottom of things (or perhaps, right to the top?):

Hat 1 | Packable Straw Hat, J. Crew

~~$49.50~~ | 2023 Price: $69.50

First impressions of this hat? It’s smelly, and not in a good way. Right out of the box, it emitted a strange, chemical smell. While I’m sure there is some processing involved in preparing the raffia straw for hat making, or perhaps an unavoidable fumigating when importing foreign fibers, I was wholly taken aback by its unpleasant smell. But for the sake of my hat-searching, I was not put off enough to skip trying it on.

The reviews indicated the hats run small, so I ordered both the Small-Medium and the Medium-Large. Either J. Crew has adjusted the sizing of these hats, or previous reviewers did not measure properly. The Small-Medium fit my 57.5 cm head just right – not too loose (it should be able to withstand an ocean breeze) and not too tight (the hat only left very faint markings across my forehead, which is typical for my highly-impressionable skin).

In theory, the brim is the perfect Goldilocks size but in practice, it looks a bit awkward, as if the hat can’t decide if it’s a floppy summer hat or a poorly-executed Panama hat. I also found the brim to be unevenly-wavy, dipping down further on one side than the other, and there is variance in the weaving along the crown’s indentation, presumably a result of its formation (looking closely at the model’s photo, I can see this is likely the case on all of these hats). Perhaps I received a lemon, but overall I am unimpressed with the execution of this hat.

Hat 2 | Packable Braided Straw Hat, Madewell

~~$38~~ | 2022 Price: $39.50

There isn’t a lot of visual information to go on when purchasing this hat from the Madewell website (linked to current style); there’s only one product image and it just shows the hat alone. There’s one additional photo on the page, pulled from an Instagram post, which shows a very sturdy, flat-brimmed hat. Despite the limited visual input, I placed an order for the “natural straw” color in size small/medium based on the glowing reviews.

Like the J. Crew hat, the Madewell hat is made from “straw” (though it doesn’t specify the type of straw, I’d muse it is raffia as well), but thankfully this hat came free of the chemical odor. Another surprise: the “ribbon” on the hat is actually an elasticized band. I expected to hate that feature but found that it helped hold the hat comfortably in place. I think I’d still prefer a more classic ribbon to this slightly-slippery band, but it wasn’t an immediate deal-breaker for me.

While I appreciate the fact that each of these hats is hand-woven, ultimately this shape isn’t for me since it is similar to one I already own. In fact, if I were searching for the perfect floppy hat, I think I’d want one with a slightly wider brim, but that’s just my personal taste.

Hat 3 | Folding Panama Hat, Cuyana

~~$75~~ | 2022 Price $118

I confess this hat always had an edge on the competition because I’ve been eyeing Cuyana’s standard Panama Hat for some time. But I understand that particular hat is more fragile, which makes it much less practical for travel. After all, the best travel accessories are the ones you don’t have to fret about.

Naturally, I was intrigued when they released this folding version. At ~~$75~~ $98 $118 (2022 update), this hat is the priciest of the bunch, but right out of the box, it is easily the highest quality. This hat is made from a more densely woven toquilla straw, which according to their site, takes an artisan at least eight hours to weave. When you consider the time and skill required to make it, paying just shy of ~~$10~~ $15 per hour of labor doesn’t seem unreasonable.

As soon as I unpacked this hat, Michael wondered aloud, “That hat is supposed to be packable?” The hat is really sturdy, and I suppose that’s why Cuyana opted for the term “foldable” rather than “packable.” The color of this hat is probably my favorite, as it is a little less yellow and more of a true neutral than the others. The cotton/nylon ribbon is also more of a true ribbon, with folds (rather than a true bow) for added visual interest.

This seems like it could be the one, right? Not quite. The fit is an issue; despite the fact that I sized down to a 57 the hat is large enough that I worry it will fly away with the slightest gust of wind. Those looking to purchase should consider sizing down at least a full size. But my real concern was how this very stiff hat would handle being folded and packed away.

The Pack Test

Only one hat included instructions for packing: the J. Crew hat. And ironically, the instructions are impossible to follow, as they indicate you should roll the hat and close it with the band (which just happens to be sewn down in multiple places along the sides of the hat). For the sake of consistency, I folded and packed all hats in the manner shown in the video on the Cuyana site and placed them into my travel tote for 24 hours.

After spending a full day and night spent packed in my bag, I wasn’t too surprised that none of them bounced back on their own. Here is each hat removed from the bag (left) and reshaped by me (right):

You can see that I was able to gently shape the hats back to their original form more or less, but I worry about the consequences of constant packing and remolding. The J. Crew hat appears to have bounced back to its (slightly wonky) shape the best, and the crown of the Madewell hat fared the worst, in my opinion. To increase the life of these hats or any packable hat, I would suggest storing them unfolded and packing them only for as long as necessary.

The Verdict

You’ve probably guessed which hat is my favorite of the bunch: Cuyana’s Folding Panama Hat. And, as a matter of fact, I’ve already returned this hat and reordered in a size 56, and I’m crossing my fingers it won’t be too large.

The styling potential, durability, quality, and neutral color make this hat the best fit for my current lifestyle. It has a more elegant appearance than the other hats, but won’t look out of place paired with a swimsuit or cut-offs either (and I may or may not already have spent time pinning style ideas over on Pinterest!). As a bonus – I appreciate the handmade nature of this hat, and I support the mission of the brand, which is to own fewer, better things. Ultimately, I think this hat will long outlast the other two and is worth the additional cost – while still staying under the $100 mark.

2022 update: It fits! And it has survived many trips. But sometime around June of this year, the brim went slack. The customer service team at Cuyana graciously agreed to replace the hat despite the warranty being expired. The new version is even sturdier than the previous, once I’ve had a chance to wear it I’ll try to update this post (or perhaps create a new review?).

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4 Comments on “Home Try-On: Three Packable Straw Hats Under $100”

The Luxe Strategist says:

June 12, 2019 at 12:08 pm

I went through this same exact dilemma and couldn’t see how a straw hat would pack up. It’s just not practical for me to bring a hat I can’t pack up. So I settled on a canvas one that I don’t mind beating up. For me, that was a decent compromise.

Nice job on the review–Krystal! You hit on all the critical points in a concise way.

1. Alyssa says:
  
  June 12, 2019 at 9:32 pm
  
  A canvas hat is perfect for traveling and gets bonus points for being machine washable! I’ll never understand why people insist on traveling with items that are too precious or need fretting-over…
  
  Thank you for reading along!
  
Sarah Winton says:

June 18, 2019 at 12:11 pm

I am most definitely not a hat person – though I’d love to be! I find that the quality of J Crew in general is pretty disappointing. I’m not surprised that one was a dud!

1. Alyssa says:
  
  June 18, 2019 at 2:49 pm
  
  I think you might be right about J. Crew, as the quality has declined greatly over the past few years. I think a part of me still hopelessly wishes for the J. Crew of a bygone era!