How to Wear Berets When You Aren't a Hat Person

Here at Who What Wear UK, we want to take all the stress out of shopping, and to help us do just that, we launched a series called We Try Before You Buy, where we road-test new trends, fresh labels, the latest drops and key buys.

I hate hats. It's partly down to my awkwardly large head (something I don't need an accessory to highlight), and it's also because I always feel self-conscious and fidgety when I have anything on my head. (I'm already an Olympic-level fidgeter, FYI.) So when my editor was looking for someone to test out a beret, I was deemed the perfect candidate. To skip ahead to the results of my experiment, know that I currently have two berets in my ASOS basket—in other words, this is a trend we hat haters can adjust to. But there are some key things to consider…

I'm sorry, but I don't have a definitive answer to how you should wear a beret on your head. Should it go forward? Pulled back? On one side? Who knows? All I can tell you is that I felt less like I was dressed up as a mime when I had it just in front of my hairline and then tilted slightly backwards. One of the best beret-wearers on Instagram is ASOS Syana who also wears the beret pulled forward over her hairline. The most important thing I learnt from my hat week is to go for a bigger size—a tight beret feels itchy and awkward.

There are a lot of berets around at the moment, and although I borrowed some novelty styles for the week—think eyelets, pearl embellishments, cheeky slogans—the simplest felted wool styles looked best. I think it's best to spend less and buy more colours to pep up your wardrobe—I wore camel, red, dark grey and dark green berets over the course of the week. When it comes to styling them, I enjoyed matching my coat to my hat. On Wednesday I dressed like a caramel latte, and on Tuesday I wore a red beret with red boots and a red coat. My beret muse, ASOS Syana, follows this and has a beret in every colour you could imagine.

If you're new to this hat game, I'd recommend sticking to the high street for your beret. It's an item you don't need to spend a lot on. Plus, rain and cashmere don't mix, and I imagine I'll lose berets at the same rate I do Oyster cards. Topshop's classic beret is a winner and is only £12, while Weekday has a wide range of colours. I take my job seriously (and big heads require multiple options).

Topshop, & Other Stories and ASOS are my favourite places to buy berets in all colours. Keep scrolling for berets under £35.

This story was published at an earlier date and has since been updated.