I own 3 hats from Lack of Color,the Faderfrom the ‘Canyons’ -Summer ’17 campaign, the Sunnydip Frayed Straw Boater from the 2018 ‘Sensations’ campaign, and the Benson Bri in Brown from their 2019 campaign, ‘Revolution.’

About the brand

Founded in 2011, Lack of Color (LOC) is an Australian hat company founded by the couple Tess Corvaia and Robert Tilbury. Their mission is to make hats wearable, modern, and fun again.

Lack Of Color produces a range of men’s and women’s hats available in seasonal colors and styles. Their hats have been worn by celebrities such as Vanessa Hudgens, Gigi Hadid and Chiara Ferragni from The Blonde Salad.

Fun fact: Lack of Color is launching a new clothing brand, I dream For You in July/August this year.

Please note that all 3 of my Lack of Color hats are made in PRC aka the People’s Republic of China, or simply known as China. I bought all 3 hats directly from the LOC website, and more about my buying experience is mentioned at the end of this post.

What to buy and what to skip from LOC?

For hats, in general, it’s best to invest in sturdy brimmed straw for the summer and wool styles for the colder months. Always opt for classic minimal styles since they will not go out of style. Bucket hats or fancy colorful hats with embellishments might be super cool now, but trends come and go. So I would not recommend you pay nearly $100 for them!

Where do I buy my LOC hats?

I bought all 3 hats directly from the LOC website.

After checking my confirmation email, I did pay for my first 2 hats in Australian dollars (the Fader $89 + Sunnydip $79 – $16.80 (first order discount) + shipping $30 = $181.20 AUD), so they came out to be less than the dollar amount said on the website. However, I paid for my newest Teak Benson Tri hat in US dollar amount, and it was $149 + shipping $10 = $159 USD. So I thought there must be some changes to their website that I was not aware of. In addition, regardless of the fact that the hats were shipped from Australia, shipping took less than a week from the day I ordered the hats. Anyways, I was happy with all of my hat orders from LOC.

Another great way to search for LOC hats on sale is GARMENTORY website. They partner with a lot of Indie Brands, including Lack 0f Color, here. I usually do a brand search or a specific style search, and Garmentory pulls inventory from lots of those indie boutiques with prices (including sale items). Great way to shop boutique finds if you don’t live near any physical stores.

1. THE FADER

$99

Specs: Fedora style with a sewn edge, hide leather band with gold stud detail, 100% soft Australian wool, brim measures 8 cm/3.15”

Fedora style hats are classics. It is a broad term that encompasses varieties of crown styles and brim shapes which suits lots of people.

I got this hat and the Sunnydip straw hat featured in #2, and I couldn’t be any happier! Both of the hats came very well-packaged and shipped from Australia. As said above, LOC hats are made in China (well, at least all of my 3 LOC hats say so on the tags.). It is very well-made, sturdy, and stunning in person. The off-white color makes this hat extremely versatile and easy to wear with a lot of different outfit pairings. I also love that the brim is not too wide which makes it even more wearable. Highly recommend you guys to watch for their sales or take advantage of their flash sale discounts.

2. SUNNYDIP FRAY BOATER

$89

Specs: 100% woven seagrass, brim measures 9 cm/3.55”, frayed edge and boater crown

Boater hats suit my head and face shape the most, in my opinion. Boater styles are commonly known or associated with barbershop quartets, proper boating or sailing events, and men’s formal summerwear in the late 80s- mid-90s. The easiest feature to distinguish is the flat top.

I brought this hat to Cannon Beach last year, and it got quite wet because of the wet sea breezes. It lost just a tiny bit of structure, but I thought that was pretty good for what it had been through. I absolutely love the frayed edge and the darker seagrass color! Pair it with darker solid colors like the black and brick colored dresses like what I have on below.

3. BENSON TRI – BROWN

$149

Specs: Size M 57 cm, brim 9.5 cm/3.75”, UPF Rating 50+ (Australian Tested), 100% soft Australian wool.

I was immediately drawn to this Teak Benson Brown featuring the deep orange velvet band. So glad that Lack of Color’s newest collection was all about the vintage-inspired designs since I had needed a darker colored hat with a classic design like this for quite some time! The tall triangle crown adds a pretty masculine feel to the hat which I really dig! I thought the cross embroidery in the back and the XX embroidery details in the back add a pretty nice touch as well!

Initially, I ordered a Large since their website did say to size up because this style ran small. Turned out, the Large size was too big for my head. It also made me look so short, so I was pretty disappointed and worried they would charge extra for the return shipping. After contacting LOC customer service, I returned the hat to a warehouse/center located in LA, and they reimbursed me the $32 shipping. Yep! It cost that much since the hat was shipped in a huge box! In about a week later, my new hat arrived, and I couldn’t be happier! It was my perfect size!

Are LOC Hats Worth the Price?

For me, totally. 100% recommend! The $80-$150 price points for these hats are totally worth it! I hang all of them up in the corner of my apartment, and they look great as decor pieces as well! I would not say they are the best quality hats I have seen, but they totally suit me and my lifestyle at the moment, sturdy and practical!

LOC Hat Care:

Watch LOC videos, here.

MY TOP 3 HAT BUYING TIPS:

Know your hat size! How to measure your head and figure out your size, here. I fit LOC hats in Medium.
Opt for classic styles, solid colors with minimal embellishments.
Material matters! I highly recommend natural materials such as wool, seagrass, or straw. Other common materials include cotton, wool felt, fur felt, toyo/paper-braid. Avoid polyester. Look for materials with UPF (Ultraviolet Protective factor)/Sun protection of 40-50+ since it blocks 97.5 – 99+ % of UV radiation. These factors include the weave, color, weight, stretch and wetness of the material.

Additionally, in order to achieve ultraviolet protection, fabrics are sometimes treated first with protective material and then it is up to the other factors to determine the actual UPF rating. Read more, here.

I really hope you give LOC hats a try! Some of you have DMed me on Instagram wishing you’d be able to rock these hats like I do, but trust me, I used to think like that as well! I thought my head was too big for hats, and hats look way too extra or too fancy! Ever since I invested in good quality hats like these LOC ones, I’m a changed woman! They are actually really versatile (as you can see above!) and perfect for those bad hair days. Or it would just be a perfect piece of accessory to spice up your simple outfit! Effortless and chic!

Thanks for reading and have a blessed day!