At StyleDash, the summer months present us with a quandary of sorts: how to enjoy the sun without getting baked. Some of us (*ahem* me) will burn at the mere mention of the sun, but the rest of us worry about balancing getting some color without needlessly exposing our skin to harmful UV rays.

Fortunately, fashion has offered us a helping hand via the sunhat. A big, floppy sunhat, while not always fashionable, can do a lot to block the worst of the sun, while still letting us soak up some vitamin D and enjoy the outdoors. Even better, in typical fashionista, well, fashion, big overly dramatic sunhats are becoming quite popular this season.

So our friends at Stylelist have this question for their newest weekly poll: Are you hot or cold on uber-dramatic sunhats?

We think that the right style, worn the right way, can be positively stunning -- but we'd love to know what you think. Vote in the Stylelist poll and then sound-off in the comments!

As Kyle recently pointed out, Brits somehow rule when it comes to pulling off the ol' headgear. Perhaps it's centuries of tradition, or the fact that they don't limit their choices to ball caps -- probably a combination of both. Still, whatever the reason, it seems that citizens in Yorkshire might soon have to fight for their right to wear hats (in bars).

Yes, as stupid as it sounds, Yorkshire police are asking barkeeps to make their customers remove their hats in order to make sure that security cameras can get a good look at them. Apparently, the local cops just want to make sure that they can identify the perpetrators if any funny business goes down. To us here at Styledash, that sounds like a hard pill to swallow. You give up your hats and then what's next? Jackets? Boots? We believe the right to wear a hat, however tasteful or hideous, shall not be infringed.

[via HauteConcept]

According to the good people from the AFP, Royal Ascot is an "annual British parade of horses, hats and high society." It sounds like fun to us! And what a good excuse to get crazy with fashion!

We love cruise lines! They're so fun and glamorous and totally over the top. And nobody does cruise/resort collections better than Badgley Mischka, kings of fabulous jaw dropping gowns.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is fun and action-packed. Total summertime fun. Plus, it brings back Karen Allen as the feisty Marion Ravenwood, our favorite heroine from the films. Are you aware that she has the best action figure of all time from the original film? Also, she's an innovative knitwear designer.

Karen went to FIT when she was 17, and returned in 2002 to study machine kitting technology. In 2003 she opened her own studio in Great Barrington, Massachusetts where she produces beautiful sweaters, scarves, hats, gloves and more, all made of Italian and Scottish cashmere.

We all love the sunshine, warmth, and good times that the summer brings. We don't love the sweaty, oily, frizzy hair. But fear not friends, it doesn't have to be that way! There are a few pieces of advice that will get you through the summer sans frizzes.

At the risk of sounding a little bit nutso, we definitely think there is an art to packing the ultimate beach bag. If you can pack it up with essentials and still keep it light, then you've got the knack.

My hat it has three corners
Three corners has my hat
And had it not three corners
It would not be my hat!

Remember that song from when you were little? We do. We think it was usually taught to American 3-7 year olds when talking about colonial America, which they do a lot in American schools until you turn about 7 (old enough to start asking hard questions).

But look! We found the hat! Two of them!

Hats are huge right now, well, a huge trend that is ... the actual size of the hats seem to be shrinking. These two hats from Chapeau Claudette look like they walked straight out of a fairytale. I feel as if the models should be animated, wearing white gloves, and drinking tea with a white rabbit. All of that nonsense aside, I actually dig the hats.

While these hats aren't necessarily easy to pull off (you can't wear them to pick up a taco or walk down to the mailbox) you can make these hats look adorably chic. I would suggest wearing these tiny hats with an over-the-top tea dress for a fun and flirty look or, for a more demure look -- with a secretary blouse/ pencil skirt combination.

These hats are for sale on ASOS.com for about $65 USD (the site is a UK site). What do you think of tiny hats, chic or silly?

With all the hats this season, it is important to know your facts.

Here is a trilby:


The name of the hat comes from George du Maurier's 1894 novel, Trilby. There was a London stage play made of the novel, and one character wore a hat like a fedora, but with a narrower brim. It was dubbed a trilby.

Here is a fedora:


As you can see, the brim is larger, giving the fedora a hint more dramatic flair. Fedoras were also named for a London stage play. The title character in Princess Fedora by Victorien Sardou in 1891 wore such a hat.

Here is an alpaca:

Available here.

Alpacas look kind of like llamas. They eat hay and grass.

Here, you can get an alpaca fedora, and totally baffle your friends with linguistic glee:


So now, you know.

Next time you're heading out in the rain, or just want a little shade on an especially sunny day, why not consider this, er, unique hat from Valentino? It'd definitely keep you dry, and, best of all, it looks like a flying saucer -- what more could you want? OK, maybe the fact that you can't see while you're wearing it is a small problem (speaking of that, how did this model make it down the runway without crashing to her death?).

The odd piece of enormous headgear was part of Valentino's Haute Couture runway show in Paris last week. Couture, if you're not familiar with it, is to fashion what modern art is to painting (sometimes it's good for inspiration, other times it's just weird) -- so rest assured, gargantuan, alien-spaceship style hats won't be showing up on store shelves anytime soon.

But you know, cut out some holes for the eyes, and maybe this would work -- albeit in a Scientology kinda way. What do you think?

I am all in favor of wide-brimmed straw hats, but Kim Cattrall's Sex and the City character in a hat so enormous it could pick up satellite signals from space was a little much. Does she have to turn sideways to walk through doorways?

Nevertheless, seeing the exaggerated hat was a good reminder about sun protection. Because winter days have fewer sunlight hours and the air is cold, it's pretty easy to forget that we need to wear moisturizers with SPF every day, and if we head out on a resort getaway to either sand or snow, the full battery of all-over sunscreens.

And of course, if you want to wear a straw hat in the winter, we won't be mad at you.

Baby, it's cold outside.

You know what that means? Cold weather accessories.

We're sure all of you have a basket in the back of the closet packed full of mismatched gloves, scarves and hats. Those things technically keeps you warm but it isn't very stylish is it? Gift yourself or someone else with these stylish accessories.
Cold hands, warm heart: If your fingers can bear it go with a pair of fingerless gloves by Alexander McQueen, the cable knit material is warm and oh-so-chic. If you can't stand the thought of exposing your fingers in chilly temperatures go with these knit gloves by Y-3 (hint, hint they are on sale).

Neck and neck: Scarves of all kinds are in style this winter. Cashmere stripes for a fun and luxurious look, gray rabbit fur for a richer look, bring out your inner ski bunny with Juicy Couture or dare to be different with a cowl neck scarf.

Hothead: What is warmer than fur in the winter? Nothing if you ask me. Protect your ears with hot pink fox fur earmuffs by Chantelle or go full on fur with this lambskin hat by Karl Donoghue.

Boots made for walking: Winter boots don't have to be bulky and ugly, they can be chic instead. For a sportier look go with Juicy Couture. If true couture is your game, then opt for this pair by Dior.

I love hats -- on other people. For whatever reason, the shape of my head makes it nearly impossible to wear anything atop my dome, but I'm intrigued by this potential trend-on-the-rise: top hats.

Yes, those ridiculously tall black hats worn by stuffy British people in old movies may be making a real-life comeback amidst the younger, more fashion-forward set. Rocker and Kate Moss' coke-head ex-lover Pete Doherty wore one this summer, plus Mary-Kate Olsen, Britney Spears, Sienna Miller, Liv Tyler and others have all recently been spotted sporting the conspicuously tall black head gear.

I'm a fan, but also think it'd be pretty tough to pull off unless you're already the kind of person whose personal style can be summed up as: "LOOK AT ME!"

A few weeks ago, I found myself in a cute boutique in Washington, D.C.. Naturally, I gravitated to the items that I either couldn't afford or couldn't imagine wearing with the one exception being a jaunty tweed wool cap with velvet buttons and a price tag that was almost too good to be true. It was just $20.

When I put the hat on, I was less certain that it was a must-have. There was something -- probably the buttons -- that just didn't fly atop my head. As I was about to return the hat to shelf, a saleswoman walked up to me, and asked me what I thought of the hat. I told her that while it was great, it didn't quite work on me.

She asked to see it on me, and I obliged (it's easier to salespeople off your back if you do what they ask). So I put the hat on and leaned down so that she could exactly what I meant when I said it didn't work. The saleswoman then asked, "Do you wear hats very often?"

I didn't, so I said, "No." At that point, she told me to take off the hat, and follow her directions.

Her first instruction was to leave the sides of my hair down so that the cap (and my hairdo) still covered my ears. I had to admit, covering my ears was a huge improvement, but it still didn't quite make up for the fact that the hat seemed oddly asymmetrical.

She then she asked me to cock the hat slightly to the right. When I did she approvingly responded, "See, there you are. It looks perfect." And girlfriend was right! With two simple adjustments, the hat I love looked totally smashing -- not just on the shelf, but on me.

So, if you're one of those people who can't quite seem to get hats to work on your head, remember these two helpful tips:

1. Cover your ears
2. Tilt your hat slightly to the left.