Don't sweat Father's Day gift giving. Every dad can use a new summer hat or a cap.

Ties? Got ’em. Cufflinks? Got ’em, never uses ’em. Cologne? Got it. Rarely uses it. Arts-and-Crafts projects? You’ve outgrown making them.

What on earth is left to get Dad for Father’s Day?

Why not get him a nice summer straw hat or a lightweight linen cap? Dad will look great sporting a hat this summer. Plus, it will help protect him from the sun’s harsh rays. You will definitely be his favorite if you keep him looking sharp while saving him from skin cancer.

Consider the All-American straw fedora like the Stetson Pasadena. It delivers classic style in a sand-colored straw or black. Made by Stetson, you know it is a quality fedora. Best of all, you get all of that for fewer than $100, so you won’t break the bank.

Maybe your father is more of a cap-wearing type of guy. Why not get him a tried and true Linen Newsboy Cap? Relatively inexpensive, these 100% linen caps are American made and come in 10 different colors.

If neither of those will do, don’t worry. Hats-Plus has more than 600 models of hats from which to choose online.

The Hat Whisperer emerges from the deep burrough where straw hats are stored. What does this mean? Spring and Summer are closer than they seem. Hang in there, America. This winter has to die eventually.

Spring and Summer can’t be that far away.

Honestly.

Otherwise we wouldn’t already be changing over our store with straw hats!

Our work has only just begun, but we are already boxing up some of the wool and fur felt. Better yet, we’re bringing up the straw and linen.

Best of all, new models of summer hats are starting to arrive from Stetson, Biltmore and Dobbs. Some of them are already on display in the store, if you can swing by to see. If the internet is as close as you can get to us, check back regularly because we soon will be adding them online!

Until then, think warm thoughts. This winter has to end eventually.

With its two-tone design and dynamic hat band the Stetson Andover makes for a great choice for a summer hat with a little swagger.

Unless you have unlimited resources, odds are good you will buy just one or two hats or caps for your summer wardrobe this year. And that’s where the trouble begins. With more than 600 different models to choose from at Hats Plus, this isn’t necessarily your easiest task.

Your best bet is to assess what you need. Whatever you choose should clearly be “you,” but if you are spending 8 hours a day outdoors in the sun, your first choice for a hat probably shouldn’t be that open-weave party hat with a stingy brim.

Ask yourself these questions: Where am I going to wear this the most? (The office? In the car? Out socializing?) How much solar protection do I need? Is it always windy? If so, do I want the wind blowing through my hair or do I want to make certain my hat won’t go flying? As you start narrowing down your choices, keep your wardrobe in mind. A shantung or natural straw hat will go with anything, but that really cool looking peach color fedora you like might only work with one or two of your outfits.

Assuming you have already read our post about the different types of straw used to make straw hats, let’s dive into some good ideas for helping you to pick out the right hat for you this summer.

ALL PURPOSE

No one will ever go wrong with a straw fedora or even a linen newsboy cap. Both will keep the sun off the top of your head and provide a little shade for your eyes. Plus, they are appropriate to wear for most occasions. A fedora with a 2-inch or 2 ½-inch brim will give a little better job providing shade.

However, a straw hat or linen newsboy will work well with a suit or a T-shirt and shorts. Each adds a little class to your wardrobe without making you look pompus or stuffy. Many fedoras can look downright playful, especially if you snap the front brim in the up position.

SUN WARRIORS

If you are outside all day gardening, doing lawncare, working as a lifeguard or any other outdoorsy job, you are going to want to protect yourself from the sun’s harsh rays. If you are especially fair skinned, you can get a sun burn in just 20 minutes between noon and 2 p.m.

You will most certainly want the most protection you can get and will likely want to get a hat with a 3-inch brim at the least. You will also want to make certain the crown either tightly woven or layered like a milan hat. This helps keep the sun from baking the top of your dome. The Stetson Rustic is a nice option. The downturned brim Capas Panama is another good choice. It only has a 2 1/2-inch brim, but the downturn brim helps to shade more of you.

Some straw hats come with special cloth liners in the crown or under the brim of the hat to make certain to block 99% of UV rays. The Stefeno New Mexico features these special linings.

If you need a little more pizzazz with a wide brim, try a gambler such as the Ozark Panama Gambler or Dobbs Kingston. Some golfers really enjoy the style and shade while the hat doesn’t get in the way of their play.

BATTLE the ELEMENTS

There is nothing like a day out on your sailboat or a weekend camping with your family, but we all know nature can be one bad mother. There is only one brand who can take all that she can dish out: Tilley.

These Canadian-made hats are made of a light-weight cotton that will deliver unparalleled solar protection. It will also help keep your head dry in the rain. Even if the hat (and you) get completely soaked, these hats are washable and guaranteed not to shrink. Many of the Tilley hats can float, which makes them easier to retrieve on the lake. PLUS, many Tilley hats have straps to go under your chin and the back of your head, thus denying the wind the opportunity to steal your hat.

PARTY TIME

If you just want to look your best while out socializing, you have a ton of options. Stingy brim straw hats are all the rage. Be sure to check out our popular straw hats by Bailey. You also might like the Goorin Good Life.

If you want a traditional fedora with real color and pop, try the Dobbs Rosebud or Stetson Andovers.

We probably should have mentioned these first, but Kangol carries a wonderful line of ivy caps like the Tropic Ventair, and ball caps, players, and army caps. They come in many colors and are instantly recognized as a fashion leader all over the world.

POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

Finally, there are those who have a zillion special events to attend this summer: weddings, graduations, company picnics and more.

With so many events for which you must dress well, you might want to consider getting a more formal hat. A highly refined Montecristi panama hat by Biltmore will make you look like a million bucks. Maybe you would rather go Great Gatsby with a straw skimmer. Or you could really take it up a notch and get a straw Hamburg, also known as a Godfather. From its upturned, bounded-edge brim to the crease of the crown, a hamburg like the straw Dobbs Eldorado is a hat that always is sophisticated and debonaire.

We hope this has helped you to sort out what hat might be best for you this summer. Always feel free to ask any questions. We love hearing from you.

The Stetson Rockport is a classic mens' summer straw fedora. Perfect for work or play, the brim snaps up or down to suit your mood and style.

The snap brim is a dapper number you can wear up or down to best suit your style.

Inside it is nicely protected by a leather sweatband.

Best of all, it is one of Stetson’s most affordable summer hats.

Stetson's latest creation is based on its super-popular Stetson Whitehall. With funky colors and a professional-looking center dent hat design this summer fedora is perfect for work and play.

In summer 2011 the Stetson Whitehall was a top-selling straw hat. This year Stetson has continued the Whitehall and introduced the brand new New Hall.

The New Hall is a center dent design with a handsome bow band, compared to the teardrop crown and bowless band of the Whitehall.

Yet, the popular colors of the milan straw are the same for both hats.

The New Hall also features an absorbent, soft cloth sweatband. It is extremely comfortable, perfect for a light-weight summer hat.

Hats Plus has turned over the store with its spring and summer collection of hats. Straw hats such as this Stetson Andover fedora are now available to help keep the sun off and your head cool as the weather heats up.

Here in Chicago it feels as if we dodged the bullet of harsh winter for the past 3 months. Now that it is March, no matter what freak storms are thrown at us, winter’s days are numbered.

With a sigh of relief that the first buds are now on the trees, we’ve converted the store with our spring and summer collection of straw and linen hats now on display. In the coming weeks our shop will be packed with all of the newest models.

Got a touch of the spring fever? Come in and get a feel for the great hats you’ll be enjoying of the next 6 months! You can practically feel the warmth of the sun radiating from these hats. If you aren’t in the Chicagoland area, all of our newest straw hats will be online soon!

Hats known as boaters or skimmers were all the rage in 1908 when this photograph was taken at a summer picnic for the Carnegie Corporation. As there was little relief from the heat, these straw hats were critical for helping to keep the sun off.

They might not have had global warming to contend with yet, but it was hot. Just look at this picture from Carnegie’s 2^nd Annual Company Picnic in 1908. It is the middle of summer, on a day meant for fun, and the men are wearing suits while the ladies are wearing several layers of /under their dresses. And it wasn’t as if they could all go inside to cool off. Air conditioning hadn’t been invented yet!

Perhaps because they couldn’t go inside to cool off, hats took on an even greater importance for providing both shade and making a fashion statement.

This is a straw boater, which is still a surprisingly popular selling hat today.

For men, this was an era dominated by the boater, also known as the skimmer. This was a flat-topped straw hat that was light weight with a goodly sized brim. These days those hats are difficult for many people to pull off without looking anachronistic. However, back then, a boater and a seersucker suit made any man the toast of the town. And you had better start off the day with your suit coat on, even if it was 95 degrees and humid.

Today, the boater sells surprisingly well. Admittedly, most of the people looking for them want them for theater and film projects, but still every now and again we come across a few men who can really rock a boater in style. Are you one of them? Please write in and tell us about your favorite summer hat.

At Hats Plus, we are proud to present the new line of panama hats that are woven, blocked and finished in Ecuador! Better yet, they are nearly half the price of many big-name panamas by Stetson and Borsalino!

These handsome panama hats from Bigalli come in three different styles. There’s the big-brimmed Golfer offering plenty of pizzazz and shade. There also are two different panama fedoras. One is a stylish bleached white straw and the other is a natural color with a pattern of venting around the crown. Each fedora sports a special pinch guard to help the crown maintain its shape.

Perfect style, excellent function and a great price. Come to Hats Plus to see for your self.

Shawn’s summer hat is the Stefano John, a stylin’ duckbill cap. He doesn’t beat about the bush either when describing why he likes it so much.

“It keeps my head sexy and cool,” he said.

If you want to keep your head sexy and cool, the Stefano John is the light-weight linen cap you need to check out.

This stingy brim fedora made of corduroy is a popular autumn hat this season.

Once Labor Day has come and gone, it is time to put up the straw hats for another year. In less enlightened times, if you were caught wearing straw after Labor Day someone might swipe your straw hat and punch out the crown.

These days, as the northern hemisphere loops farther away from the sun’s heat, we’d rather just entice you to wear felt by highlighting the great new autumn and winter hats we’re getting by the truckload.

One of our hottest new hats is the Henschel Corduroy. A stylish stingy brim fedora make from old skool black or beige corduroy, it is sure to be a big hit.

Also lookin’ good are eight new Goorin caps including the Nevada and the Westbound.

Additional hot new arrivals include the big-brimmed Henschel Suede Safari, the smaller Henschel Walking Hat, and the Henschel Leather Pinch and Pork Pie hats.

More great hats keep arriving every day. Be sure to swing by the store or check out hats-plus.com to see what new arrivals have been posted.