Hats are a must in the sun

Hamburg - Whether a beach vacation or a bicycle tour, people should wear hats and protect themselves as soon as the sun’s rays beat down.

Europeans especially should heed this advice, says Prof Eckhard Breitbart of the Hamburg-based Working Group on Dermatological Prevention (ADP).

“Always wear a hat or a cap!”

But not everything that protects us from the sun actually looks good.

“I find baseball caps awful,” says Julia Moennich, a representative of the Frankfurt-based Textilwirtschaft magazine.

However, she’ll let it slide if an outfit is suited to a cap such as British model Kate Moss’ outfit of shorts, T-shirt and flip-flops. Style expert Marianne Montag from Unna allows the occasional basebcap but “in discreet colours and without a garish inscription.”

But other items are not negotiable. Neither can abide men wearing pirate-style, bandana wraps.

“I think they are horrible,” says Moennich - except for cyclists. "They can wear them.” But women can wear headscarves or wraps to give them a more exotic look.  "Protection from the sun is important, but only in good taste,” says Markus Fehr of the Weiher-based Seeberger Company in Germany’s Allgaeu region.

The fashion house has a line of straw hats for women, ranging from discreet to swanky. Fehr also knows what protects men from sunburns.

Goettmann in Bensheim in the state of Hesse has timeless Panama hats as well as functional models with extra UV protection.

“Materials like a polyester-cotton blend with a UV factor of about 40,” says manager Michael Goettman of the material offered. The range goes from a cap to cap with neck protection.

Those are also available at Ernst Bendler’s store in Hamburg, which offers supplies for the tropics and the high seas. The Tropics Cap and the Tropics Hat, both made of thick cotton, are classics and available for less than 10 euros (13 dollars).

Women might have to dig deeper into their pockets for items like the trendy Capri look of the 1950s with its wide-brimmed straw hats straw or seaweed.

“That will set a customer back 300 euros or more,” says Moennich.

Scarves like those worn by Grace Kelly are good for summer, says Montag. But Breitbart warns that while “a scarf covers up the ears, it has no brim.” That is a must for covering the forehead, nose, cheekbones, lips and the edges of the ears.

Small caps with narrow brims favoured by rock star Pete Doherty; offer hardly any protection from the sun’s UV rays.

Moennich says the fashion is tending towards subtle colours, but headwear is becoming sportier and baseball caps are trendier, she notes.

DPA

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