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Considering what’s been going on elsewhere in the country this week, we’ve had it pretty good here in New York, and I’m fortunate to be able to say that the biggest inconvenience the world has thrown at me is a few consecutive days of wind chill factors in the single digits.
This recent cold streak, though, has revealed a glaring hole in my winter wardrobe: I do not own appropriate cold-weather headwear.
Now, yes, I of course own lots of baseball caps of various materials: standard cotton, corduroy, tweed, for example. But, while I’m well aware of the notion that your body loses a significant amount of heat through your head (is this true, even?) and that, thus, even a baseball cap would go a long way in keeping me warm, the style would not address my single biggest concern, which is that, ho-ly shit, my ears get so cold so fast that after five minutes outside it feels like they’re going to turn to stone and fall off my head.
I don’t know if it has to do with getting old — I certainly don’t remember this being a thing when I was a kid — but it is so painful that by Wednesday of this week, I gave in and dug out an old REI Co-op beanie I used to wear when I was a committed runner, and I reluctantly wore it on my morning commute.
The problem with this is that, for some reason, I look like an absolute idiot in a beanie. Like, really stupid. I can’t tell if my head is big or just weirdly shaped, but it is not good. And also, by the time I get to work and take it off, my hair is a staticky mess, sticking up and out in some places and badly matted down in others. And just like that, my day is ruined.
So I am officially on a quest for a new hat to get me through the rest of this winter and many more to come — and I’m not yet prepared to rule out a beanie. Maybe a nicer one will fit better or just look cooler? Or maybe someone will tell me that I’m being too hard on myself and I don’t actually look that bad? And maybe concerns over my hair will be rendered moot because I’m so happy with how I look in it that I’ll just leave it on all day? A man can dream.
Below, some winter hat options that have caught my eye. Let me know if you have any other suggestions.
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