The Best Winter Hats for Women: Cashmere Beanies, Balaclavas, Trappers and Berets

The best winter hats for women do two jobs: they cover your ears and they keep the wind out. For a city winter, that means a close-fitting knit in cashmere, brushed alpaca or mohair, pulled down far enough to cover the tops of your ears. For an hour outside below freezing, a ski weekend or a windy train platform, it means a shearling trapper hat or a balaclava. Berets, felt hats, headbands and earmuffs are the more polished answers for shorter stretches outdoors. Below, our editors sort 78 pieces from the top houses by type, with advice on warmth, fit, hair, coats and care.

Winter hats for women, ranked by warmth

The old line that you lose most of your body heat through your head does not hold up. In a 2008 paper in the BMJ, Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll, pediatricians at Indiana University, said the myth most likely began with a military study in which the subjects wore arctic survival suits but no hats, so the head was the only bare part of the body. According to the university's release on the paper, more contemporary experts say the same subjects in swimsuits would not have lost more than 10 percent of their body heat through their heads. Any bare skin loses heat. The National Weather Service tells anyone who must go out in extreme cold to cover ears, nose, toes and fingers, and warns that frostbite can set in within minutes on those extremities.

So the winter hats that keep you warm are the ones that cover the most and stop the wind; fiber comes second. The table below is our stylists' ranking by how much of the head and neck each shape covers, not a laboratory test. For more of each shape, see our full edit of designer hats.

Within each type, three lines on a listing matter more than the price. First, the fiber percentages: Moncler's alpaca beanie is 5 percent cashmere and its pom-pom beanie 30 percent, so read the numbers, not the product name (our cashmere sweater guide explains the US labeling rules). Second, the knit: a dense rib or cable holds more still air than a fine jersey, and a brushed alpaca or mohair halo adds more. Third, the lining, which stops wind through the stitches and is kinder to hair; we name the lined hats in each section below.

The best cashmere beanies: the hat to buy once

A plain cashmere beanie in the color family of your coat is the most useful winter hat you can own. It folds into a pocket, fits under a hood and works with a tailored coat or a ski jacket. Buy a dense rib or cable rather than a fine jersey, with a cuff deep enough to double over the ears, and buy by size where the house offers sizes. Several do: Brunello Cucinelli sells its English-rib cashmere beanie from XS to L, Loro Piana its cable-knit Cedar in S, M and L, and The Row its Pavir in XS/S and M/L, according to their listings. A sized beanie stays where you put it instead of creeping up the back of your head by lunch.

For color, match the beanie to the coat for one long, unbroken line, or to the scarf when the coat is the statement. Gray, oatmeal and black work with almost any coat. Gabriela Hearst's Pacino, a deep red made in Uruguay of 100 percent cashmere, adds color without pattern. Prada's cable-knit beanie with the enamel triangle is pure cashmere too, as is Max Mara's fisherman-rib beanie with its embroidered M. Toteme's ribbed cashmere beanie, plain apart from a folded cuff, is the one to buy if you dislike logos.

Designer beanies in mohair, alpaca, wool and silk

If warmth matters more than polish, choose a hairy yarn. Brushed alpaca and mohair have a halo of loose fiber that holds a layer of still air close to the head, so they feel warmer than a smooth knit of the same weight. Toteme's brushed alpaca-blend beanie and Brunello Cucinelli's brushed mohair blend have the fullest halo here. The halo has two costs: it can shed onto a dark coat in the first weeks, and it catches on hair. Isabel Marant's striped Morenne and Khaite's Lake, which the brand describes as a 2x2 rib of cashmere, mohair and silk in marled neutrals, have the most character.

Two pieces deal with the hair problem directly. Prada's brown beanie with the triangle logo is listed with a fleece lining, and Gabriela Hearst's Spire is knitted from silk, a smoother fiber than wool. Bottega Veneta's plain beanie, 100 percent wool and sold in three US hat sizes, is the quiet one; Moncler's ivory alpaca blend, with cables and openwork, is the most textured.

Fair Isle, pom-pom and sequined beanies: the one-season pleasure

Pattern, sparkle and pom-poms are what you buy for fun, and what you tire of first, so let the hat be the only loud thing you wear. Miu Miu's pink Fair Isle beanie, in 100 percent virgin wool and sold in S, M and L, is lovely with a cream or gray coat. Loewe's navy Fair Isle, knitted with sequins, suits charcoal or black tailoring. Valentino's black cashmere beanie, edged in lace, belongs with a black coat and a little jewelry. Burberry's check beanie is 92 percent cashmere, and Chloé's Joyful is a chunky wool and cashmere knit in bright red.

A pom-pom has one practical drawback: it will not go under a hood, and it sits exactly where a car headrest pushes it forward. Moncler's black cable-knit beanie has a faux-fur pom-pom; Moncler Grenoble's alpaca-blend version is knitted in a jacquard inspired by traditional mountain knitwear.

Balaclavas and knitted hoods

A balaclava covers what a beanie leaves out: the whole ear, the neck and, if you pull it up, the chin. That makes it the warmest knit shape you can wear, and it closes the gap between collar and hairline where cold air runs down the back of a coat. In town, wear it like a hood: pushed back off the forehead with the opening framing your face, over a long coat, and skip the scarf, because the balaclava already does that job. Put it on before your lipstick and take it off over the back of your head. Under a puffer's hood, choose a fine knit; for skiing under a helmet, see our ski outfits guide.

There are two kinds. Full balaclavas fit closely: Brunello Cucinelli's is 100 percent cashmere with a drawstring and comes in US hat sizes, and Moncler's black one is 90 percent virgin wool and 10 percent cashmere in a half-brioche stitch. Hoods sit looser and come off easily indoors: Prada's ribbed wool and cashmere hood, Magda Butrym's cashmere hood with self-ties and Brunello Cucinelli's cashmere snood, whose listing says it can sit flush against the hair or over a beanie and earmuffs. Chloé's camel wool balaclava with a chain-stitched logo, Max Mara's cashmere one, embellished with crystals, and Magda Butrym's cable knit with embroidered flowers are the decorative choices; there are more in our face coverings edit.

Trapper hats, chapkas and earflap knits for real cold

The trapper hat is the warmest shape in this guide: a crown, a front flap and two ear flaps, usually in shearling, that tie under the chin or fasten up out of the way. Loewe's Loop trapper is shearling lined with cotton, and its flaps can be worn down or folded up; Jacquemus's cream La Chapka is lamb shearling with long leather ties, according to their listings. Miu Miu's tan trapper is leather edged in shearling, with the logo stamped into the leather. Gabriela Hearst's Karina is real fur: black textured leather with beaver fur that the house lists as 100 percent recycled.

Saint Laurent's Chapka is a different shape: a brimless drum of black shearling, lined in silk and sold in sizes 56 to 58. It wants a long, plain coat. Any trapper is a lot of hat, so keep everything around it smooth: a long wool coat or a sleek parka, a slim scarf, and the flaps tied up on milder days.

If shearling feels like too much, an earflap knit does most of the work. Miu Miu's Fair Isle hat has ear flaps, long ties and a pom-pom; its ivory wool and cashmere hat has shearling-trimmed flaps; and Dries Van Noten's wool earflap hat has long striped ties.

Shearling, teddy and faux-fur hats

Between the beanie and the trapper sit the furry buckets and cloches. They are warmer than a knit around the crown and flattering because the soft brim frames the face, but they leave the ears partly bare. Brunello Cucinelli's lamb shearling bucket is lined; Max Mara's Fiducia is reversible, camel hair on one side and teddy on the other; Saint Laurent's fluffy bucket is faux fur; and Fendi's black cloche is a wool blend knitted to look like long-haired shearling. Toteme's two shearling hats set a leather crown into a deep shearling cuff, for warmth around the head without flaps.

Real shearling goes to a specialist for cleaning, as Toteme's listings say. Between cleans, our advice is to shake off snow, let the hat dry at room temperature away from a radiator, and brush the pile once it is dry.

Winter bucket hats in wool, cashmere and cord

A bucket hat is the winter hat for people who find beanies too sporty and berets too precious. In wool or cashmere, its soft brim tips sleet off your face and glasses, and it sits well on short hair and bobs. It belongs with puffers, parkas and car coats; with a long tailored coat, choose a neat flannel shape rather than a slouchy knit.

Prada's cable-knit wool bucket is lined with cotton and sold in S, M and L; its Re-Wool bucket mixes wool with 10 percent cashmere and has a cotton lining too, and its corduroy version comes in dark red. Miu Miu's is 70 percent virgin wool and 30 percent cashmere with a topstitched brim. Brunello Cucinelli's is virgin wool and cashmere flannel with a crepe lining. Loro Piana's Zaltana is 93 percent cashmere and 7 percent silk; Max Mara's is reversible camel hair. Burberry's quilted check bucket is the only one here with a nylon shell, and our pick for wet days.

Berets in felted wool and cashmere

A beret is warmer than it looks because of how it is made. Maison Laulhère, the French beret maker founded in 1840, describes its traditional process in a story produced with the Fondation du patrimoine: undyed merino wool is knitted, the circle is closed by hand, and the beret is then fulled, or felted, in warm, soapy water. The house says this step gives the wool its waterproof quality and its softness, and that during the process the stitches tighten and the beret loses up to 30 percent of its volume. So a felted beret should cope with wind and drizzle better than an open knit; a knitted one, like Miu Miu's ribbed cashmere and wool beret, is softer and more casual.

Our stylists wear a beret toward the back of the head and tilted to one side, with the band just above the ears rather than low on the forehead; it looks less like a costume that way and lets your hair show at the front. It covers no part of the ear, so on a hard-cold day add earmuffs or choose a knit. Maison Margiela's carbon-gray beret has the house's four white stitches at the back, Brunello Cucinelli's felt beret runs from XS to XL, and Roger Vivier pins a crystal brooch to its burgundy, beige and black berets, the dressiest here.

Felt hats, fedoras and cloches for city cold

A felt hat is the polished choice for town. It keeps snow off your face, copes with a drizzle better than a knit, and finishes a long coat the way good boots do. It leaves the ears bare, though, so it is for the walk from car to door or a milder day, not an hour at a bus stop. Khaite's Vito, a cap shaped like an ascot, is rabbit felt, per its listing. Prada's felt cloche and Valentino Garavani's are wool, as is Roger Vivier's embellished pillbox, and Max Mara's fedora adds 20 percent cashmere. Brunello Cucinelli's brown fedora has a reinforced brim, and Khaite says it shapes its Arlo cloche on a two-part wooden block so the bell holds without internal reinforcement.

Proportion decides whether a felt hat looks right, and our stylists follow three habits. Keep a fedora's brim narrower than your shoulders, wear a cloche low with short hair or a low bun, and pair either with a coat that has a clean collar rather than a big shawl or a hood.

Headbands and earmuffs

Earmuffs and knit headbands protect the ears without flattening your hair, which makes them the answer for a fresh blow-dry, an updo or a ponytail you want to keep. A headband should sit just behind the hairline and cover the whole ear; a wide band like The Row's Ombrea, 64 percent cashmere and 27 percent silk with a little stretch, or Toteme's wool and cashmere band, stays put better than a narrow one. Earmuffs range from Balenciaga's faux fur on a slim leather band to Burberry's wool and cashmere pair, sold in small and medium, and Max Mara's camel hair and silk muffs. Max Mara's teddy headband is 62 percent alpaca, 26 percent wool and 12 percent silk, the same kind of pile as the house's Teddy coats. More knit bands are in hair accessories.

Which winter hat goes with which coat

Volume is the rule our stylists work from: one big shape at a time, either the coat or the hat. Texture comes next: one fluffy piece per outfit. The pairings below are their judgement, not fixed rules.

For color, either keep the hat in the coat's family (a gray beanie with a charcoal coat, an ivory balaclava with a cream one) or tie it to your scarf and gloves so the accessories read as a set. Our guides to designer scarves and designer gloves cover the other two pieces, and our winter coat guide ranks the coats themselves by warmth. Not sure which shape suits the coat you already own? Ask our AI stylist to pair a hat with the coats in your closet.

How a winter hat should fit

A beanie should cover the tops of your ears with the cuff and leave no red line on your forehead after ten minutes. If it rides up, it is too small or too shallow; if the cuff gapes at the back, it is too big. Many designer beanies are sized, from Bottega Veneta's US hat sizes to Miu Miu's S, M and L. A balaclava's opening should sit at your hairline and under your chin, not over your mouth.

Structured hats need a measurement. Lock & Co., the London hatter, measures with a tape around the head at mid-forehead and just above the ears, and suggests going up a size in a flat cap. Felt hats come sized in centimeters or in US hat sizes: Valentino lists its felt fedora from S (56) to XL (59), while Roger Vivier's pillbox runs from US 6¾ to 7¼. Lock's own chart converts between them, putting US 6¾ at 54 centimeters, 7 at 56 and 7¼ at 58, and notes that British sizes run an eighth smaller than American ones, so check which system a listing uses. A stiff felt hat has none of a knit's stretch, so between sizes we would choose the larger one; Lock says a hat filler takes about 1 to 2 centimeters off the fit. Measure with your hair the way you will wear it under the hat, because a low bun under a beret changes the number.

Winter hats and hair

Our stylists start with completely dry hair, because damp hair sets in the shape of the hat. Decide where your hair goes before the hat does: worn down and tucked behind the ears under a beanie, in a low bun or braid under a balaclava or beret, and never in a high ponytail, which pushes any hat up and off the ears. Smooth or lined hats are kinder to hair than hairy ones: Gabriela Hearst's silk Spire, Prada's beanie with its listed fleece lining and Loro Piana's lined Zaltana bucket are the picks above for that. A wide, soft rib leaves a gentler mark than a narrow, tight band.

What to buy once, and what to buy for one season

Buy once: a cashmere beanie in your coat's color family; a felted beret in a dark neutral or burgundy; a felt hat in a dark neutral if you wear tailored coats; and a shearling trapper only if your winters keep you outside below freezing. Buy for a season: logo beanies, pom-poms, sequins, lace, faux-fur buckets and novelty colors. They date fastest. On price, a pure cashmere beanie from these houses starts a little above $200 and most cost under $700; beyond that you are paying for the name, a lining, sizing or a special yarn.

The mistakes that leave people cold

• Wearing a beanie perched above the ears. Pull the cuff down.
• Buying one size when the house sells sizes. A loose trapper's flaps gape and a loose beanie creeps up.
• Drying a wet knit on a radiator. The Woolmark Company says to dry wool knitwear flat, away from direct sunlight and direct heat, and to knead it back into shape and size by hand while it is wet.
• Crushing a felt hat into a bag. Carry it in your hand or store it on its crown, never on its brim.

For care, follow each label: Brunello Cucinelli's English-rib beanie, for example, can be hand washed and dried flat, while Loewe and Max Mara list their cashmere beanies for dry cleaning. Brush felt with a soft brush in the direction of the nap, and comb away the small pills that form where a coat collar rubs the back of a beanie.

How we chose these winter hats

We read the composition line of every listing and kept a piece only when its fiber matched its name and its section. We noted whether each hat covers the ears, favored hats sold in sizes where the house offers them, and left out the straw, raffia, cotton poplin and crochet hats that the catalog also files as hats. Every piece comes from a top luxury house and none is pre-owned. Where a hat is real fur or shearling, we say so, and the faux pieces are the ones their own listings call faux. Prices run from under $200 for a knit headband to almost $4,000 for the fur trapper; most beanies cost between roughly $230 and $950.

Frequently asked questions

What is the warmest winter hat for women?

A shearling trapper hat with the flaps down: it covers the crown, forehead, ears and jaw and blocks wind. A balaclava, which covers the ears and neck, comes next. Among beanies, a brushed alpaca or mohair knit, a dense cable or a lined beanie pulled over the ears is warmer than a fine-gauge cashmere one.

Do you really lose most of your body heat through your head?

No. Two Indiana University pediatricians writing in the BMJ in 2008 said the idea most likely came from a military study in which the head was the only uncovered part of the body. Any bare skin loses heat, so cover your ears, neck and hands too.

Is a cashmere beanie warmer than a wool beanie?

Not necessarily. Cashmere is warm for its weight and soft, but the knit matters more: a thick brushed alpaca or a lined wool beanie can be warmer than a fine cashmere rib.

What size beanie should I buy?

Buy the size if the house offers one; several beanies above come in letter or US hat sizes. Measure around your head at mid-forehead and just above the ears, and compare with the listing.

How do you wear a winter hat without ruining your hair?

Put it on dry hair worn down or in a low bun, choose a silk or lined hat over a hairy mohair one, and on blow-dry days wear earmuffs or a wide knit headband instead.

What hat goes with a long wool coat?

A beret, a felt fedora or cloche, or a fine cashmere beanie in the coat's color family. Save chunky pom-poms and trappers for puffers and parkas.

Keep reading

• How to wear beanies
• The best shearling coats
• What to wear in Paris in winter
• The best winter coats for women