These two examples show how even a hat with drooping brim, if not too wide, can be worn by the stout person if trimming is adeptly used to direct the vision upward and lend an illusion of height.
A short, stout woman should avoid a squatty mushroom hat, because it exaggerates her lack of height, and adds years in appearance. She should choose a narrow brim and high crown, calculated to add length of line and absorb some of the rotundity of her features. The woman who is proportionately larger than the average will find the drooping mushroom with rather broad sides and a medium size crown that conforms to the shape of the head, trimmed in an even compact arrangement, decidedly becoming.
The stout woman of medium height can wear this same type of hat with slight alteration on the brim line; that is, instead of the sides drooping down midway from the head-size on both sides, the brim assumes a slight upward curve which continues around the back while the crown may be from one to two inches taller than ordinarily. This depends upon the prevailing fashion.
If the chin recedes, never wear a hat that flares up and forward from the brow, for it would emphasize the line of the chin. A hat with a tiny brim and a high, straight crown seems the best style. Accordingly, the large woman with a protruding chin requires a counteracting forward effect in the brim; therefore, she will find a small hat, with an abrupt upward turning brim, in the style generally known as the Russian effect, smart and becoming.
Here trimming is used on two entirely different types of hats to give in each case added height to the figure and help in attaining a slenderizing appearance.
Left—Hats with medium brims and high trimming are often becoming, especially if wide enough to avoid the pyramid effect.
Right—High built trimming and delicate veils are advantageous where a double chin is the handicap.
The double chin is another problem that the large woman has found difficult to solve. For this type, the rather high hat, or a top-heavy turban, if it conforms to the vogue and is in good taste, is desirable. A scarf or veil craftily arranged around the neck will do much to hide this unbecoming roll of flesh. Nowhere is a thorough knowledge of the laws of optical illusion more necessary than in your selection of hats. Cheap hats are a false economy, especially for the large woman. Do not, therefore, spend your good money on any hat unless you are sure it will add the desired lines to your appearance. This, as you must realize by this time, is really quite easy to do.
HAT COLORS TO WEAR AND NOT TO WEAR
To avoid harsh and trying colors in hats should be the principal aim of the big woman, for they tend to emphasize the bigness we are trying to make less conspicuous. The staples, dark navy and black, are always equally suitable for blondes and brunettes, and carry smartness for street wear. Grays, too, provided the skin permits them, are in good taste. Silver-gray, platinum or zinc are good choices for the large woman. While you need not be overwhelmingly conventional, you must appreciate your limitations about the extremes in shapes, color, and trimming arrangement.