Bachelorette Hat Ideas: Matching Crews, Bride Hats and Group Orders

Hats are the easiest way to make a bachelorette group look like a group. A dozen people in different outfits suddenly read as one crew the moment the same crown shape goes on every head. The hard part is the planning: picking colors, deciding how the bride stands out, and getting a stack of hats to several addresses before the trip. This guide walks through each of those decisions, using the colors we actually carry.

Matching or coordinated

There are two ways to dress a crew, and both work. Fully matching means everyone wears the same hat in the same color. It is simple to order, impossible to get wrong, and it looks bold in a wide group photo. The downside is that some people will not love the color, and it can look a little like a uniform.

Coordinated means everyone wears the same hat style in a small, planned set of colors. It photographs with more depth and lets each person choose a shade that suits them. The trick is to limit the palette. Two or three colors look intentional. Six colors look like everyone ordered on their own.

Our disco cowboy hat range has two colorful styles for crews, and each gives you a different set of colors to work with. The silver Mirror Ball, covered in mirror tiles, makes a natural bride hat next to them.

A few palettes that work well with these:

• Pink party: the crew in light pink Plush Party Faux-Fur, the bride in white. Soft, bright and very easy to shoot.
• Red and wine: Dancehall Retro in red and wine red split across the group. It reads warm and a little more grown-up.
• Desert neutrals: Dancehall Retro in camel, brown and light gray, with white for the bride. Good for a trip with a lot of daytime outdoor plans.
• Mint and pink: Plush Party Faux-Fur in mint green and light pink, alternated down the line. Playful, and it photographs well at night.

You can also mix the two styles. Both lines come in white, rose red, brown and black, so a crew could wear the Dancehall Retro while the bride wears the Plush Party Faux-Fur in the same color family. Keep in mind that faux fur and polyester take color differently, so treat that as coordinated rather than an exact match.

Bride hat vs crew hats

The bride should be the easiest person to find in every photo. There are three simple ways to do it.

1. Different color, same hat. The crew wears one color and the bride wears white. This is the most common approach, because it is clear and costs nothing extra.
2. Different texture. The crew wears the smooth Dancehall Retro and the bride wears the shaggy Plush Party Faux-Fur. Even in the same color family, the fur stands out.
3. A different kind of hat. Some brides want a hat they will keep wearing long after the weekend. In that case, a real felt cowboy hat makes sense for her while the crew stays in party hats.

For that third option, the Deadwood 4X is worth a look. It is a Stetson in 4X quality wool felt, available in white, with a 4 5/8 inch cattleman crown and a 4 inch brim. It has a matching self-felt hatband with a 3-piece silver-tone buckle set, a genuine leather sweatband and a satin liner, and it is handmade in the U.S.A. It costs $170 and comes in fitted sizes from 6 3/4 to 7 3/4, so you need the bride's real head measurement. That can be tricky to get without spoiling a surprise. A soft tape measure around the head just above the ears, done casually during a dress fitting, usually works.

Tip: if the bride hat is a surprise and you cannot get her size, go with a one-size party hat for her too, and let her pick a keeper hat after the wedding.

Ordering for a group

Group orders go wrong in two places: fit and timing. Plan for both.

Fit. The two crew styles are one size, M, which measures 56 to 58 cm, roughly US 7 to 7 1/4. That covers a lot of heads, but not every head. Ask everyone to measure before you order. Anyone smaller than 56 cm can add a strip of hat sizing tape inside the band. Anyone well above 58 cm should know the hat may sit high, and might prefer to wear it tilted back.

Timing. We ship in 1 to 2 business days, and transit within the US takes 3 to 6 business days. That means a hat can take up to about eight business days to arrive, which is close to two calendar weeks once weekends are counted. For a group, we suggest ordering at least three weeks before the trip. That leaves room for one person to swap a color, or for a late package, without anyone panicking.

• One order or many. One organizer ordering everything keeps the colors consistent and gives you one tracking number. Individual orders are easier to split costs on, but people forget.
• One address or many. Shipping all hats to one address means you can check every hat before the trip. Shipping is free to US addresses, and we ship within the US only.
• Budget. A crew of eight in the Plush Party Faux-Fur starts at $256 before any bride hat. Eight in the Dancehall Retro start at $352.
• Returns. Returns are accepted within 30 days on unworn hats with tags. Tell everyone to try their hat on indoors and keep the tags on until the color and fit are settled.

Packing and travel

Many bachelorette trips involve a flight, and a bell crown does not love being crushed in a suitcase. Wear your hat on the plane, or pack it with the crown loosely stuffed with clothes so nothing presses it flat. The hats ship in a crush-proof box. If the trip is a drive, that box is the safest way to move a stack of hats in the trunk.

At the rental, set hats upside down on their crowns, brim up, so the brims keep their shape. Faux fur can be shaken out and finger-combed after a night out, and the Dancehall Retro can be wiped with a dry cloth or a lint roller.

Getting the photos

Matching hats are mostly about the pictures, so plan a few shots on purpose.

• The line-up. Everyone in a row, bride in the middle, hats on straight. Shoot from slightly below chest height so the crowns stay in frame.
• The brim shot. Everyone tilts their hat down over one eye at the same time. It looks great with one color and even better with an alternating palette.
• The hat toss. It looks fun and it works, but toss over grass or carpet, not over a pool or a dirty floor.
• Golden hour. Late afternoon light makes white and pastel hats glow. Midday sun casts hard shadows under brims across everyone's eyes.

If you are going out at night, check your venue's hat and bag policy first, since some places have rules about headwear. Then add sequins, metallics or rhinestone details in the outfits. Our hats do not have sequins or lights, so the shine comes from the clothes and the hats bring the shape. Line up the crew, put the bride in front, and take more photos than you think you need.