Hat Box Sizes: Dimensions for Every Hat Style

Hat box sizes by hat style

The box size comes from three numbers: the hat's overall length (front to back across the brim), its overall width, and its crown height. These figures are for an average adult hat, size 7¼, with ½-1 in of clearance added all round.

A round box must clear the hat's longest dimension. That is why a round box for a 16-17 in cowboy hat wastes space: a long-oval or rectangular box fits it with less bulk.

Wide-brim hat box 20 inCowboy hat box 17 inFedora box 14 inCloche box 11.5 in

How the box size is worked out

US hat sizes are the average diameter of the head in inches: size = head circumference ÷ 3.14. A size 7¼ hat fits a head of 22¾ in (57.9 cm). The hat opening is an oval, roughly 1.2 times as long as it is wide, so for size 7¼ it is about 7.9 in long and 6.6 in wide.

1. Find the opening: about 7.9 × 6.6 in for size 7¼ (see the table below for other sizes).
2. Add the brim twice: a fedora with a 2½ in brim is 7.9 + 5 = 12.9 in long and 6.6 + 5 = 11.6 in wide.
3. Add clearance: ½-1 in on each side keeps the brim from bending against the wall. That gives a 14 in round box.
4. Box height: crown height plus about 1-2 in. Fedora crowns are usually 4½-5½ in tall, so a 6-7 in deep box works.

Each step of ¼ in hat size adds only about 0.3 in to the hat's length, so the brim width matters far more than the head size. A 14 in box fits a 2½ in brim fedora from size 6¾ to 7½ with room to spare, and a 7¾ snugly; a hat with a 3½ in brim needs a box of about 16 in at any common size. Hat size charts by region are on the hat size guide.

Measuring a hat for a box

1. Set the hat crown-up on a table and measure the overall length, front to back, at the widest point of the brim.
2. Measure the overall width side to side. On Western hats with a curled brim, measure the actual width, which is often 1-2 in less than the flat brim would be.
3. Measure the height from the table to the top of the crown, including any pinch or decoration.
4. Add ½-1 in to length and width and 1-2 in to height. For a hat with feathers or a flower, add space for the trim at its highest point.

Cowboy hat boxes and carriers

Western hats are the hardest to box because of their size and shaped brims. With a 4 in brim, a size 7¼ hat is about 16 × 14½ in with a flat brim; the side curl usually brings the width down a little. Crowns are commonly 4½-5 in tall at the pinch, more for open-crown styles, so allow 8 in or more of inside height.

• Box shape: long-oval or rectangular, about 17-18 × 16 in, so the curled sides are not pressed flat.
• Resting position: crown-down, or on a crown support, so the brim keeps its shape and nothing presses on its edge.
• Travel cases: hard hat carriers for Western hats are built around the same 17-18 in length and often stack two hats nested crown in crown when the brims match.

Decorative and nested hat box sets

Hat boxes sold for storage and decor usually come in nested sets of two to four round boxes, each 2 in smaller than the next, for example 14, 12 and 10 in across. Only the largest box in such a set usually fits an adult brimmed hat; the smaller ones suit caps, scarves, gloves or accessories. Check the inside height too: many decorative boxes are only 5-6 in deep, too shallow for a fedora crown.

For storing other accessories, see jewelry box sizes and watch box sizes. A closet shelf that holds hat boxes needs to be as deep as the box is wide: 14 in for fedora boxes and 18 in or more for Western and wide-brim boxes; standard 12 in shelves are too shallow. The closet organizer guide covers shelf depths, and the shoe box size guide covers the boxes that usually share the same shelves.

Shipping a hat

Ship the hat inside its hat box, and the hat box inside a corrugated carton with 2 in of padding all round. A 14 × 14 × 7 in fedora box goes into an 18 × 18 × 11 in carton. That is 3,564 cu in, billed at 26 lb of dimensional weight with UPS and FedEx (divisor 139), which is why shipping hats costs more than their weight suggests. A crushable hat rolled into a smaller box is far cheaper to ship, but felt and straw dress hats should never be crushed. Carton sizes are on the shipping box sizes page.

Frequently asked questions