Test-Driving the 20 Most Smile-Inducing Hats for Your Next Zoom Gathering

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Like many of you, we in the Vogue fashion department have been slowly adjusting to our new work from home reality. Video conferencing helps us keep us informed—and connected—but it’s certainly no substitute for the real thing. “One of my favorite things about my job is being surrounded by creative people every day,” Alexandra Michler, director of fashion development, said. And, as market editor Alexandra Gurvitch observed: There’s a limit to how much you can express yourself in the space of a Zoom square.

So, we decided to get creative about our video conferencing calls. Our idea was straight out of Regina George’s playbook: Coordinated team style. Or, as we’ve come to call this one, coping through hats. Why hats? Simple. It’s one of the few sartorial statements you can see via Zoom. And of course, the possibilities for self-expression are endless: dad caps, cashmere beanies, wide-brimmed sun hats, fascinators fit for a queen.

It was a bit of a lark, but the fashion team took this assignment seriously. Assistant market editors Ciarra Lorren Zatorski, Charlotte Diamond, and Madison Barker even had a meeting ahead of the meeting just to plan out options. It occurred to us that this process—styling, collaborating, laughing—made us feel more normal than we had in weeks.

Vogue’s very own Lynn Yaeger perhaps summed up the power of dressing up best: “If you love fashion, you don’t stop loving it in the face of adversity.” Even virtually, we will continue to lean into what we love. We think that deserves a hat tip, don’t you?

Ruslan Baginskiy leopard-print beret

Handwoven Moroccan pom-pom sun hat

Paul Smith felt feather-detail fedora hat

Rag & Bone floppy brim fedora

Headchange super-wide-brim lifeguard hat

Moncler fur-pom-pom virgin wool beanie

Du Jour beret

Balenciaga men’s logo-embroidered baseball cap

Off-White black logo-print mesh cap

UO flat-brim felt fedora hat

Open Road Royal Deluxe hat

Ganni leopard-print hat