“Mister, you’re wearing the wrong hat.”  That was the statement a store owner said to me as I walked into her store looking for a cowboy hat.  I was wearing an Irish green Red Sox baseball hat.  It’s a hat that’s very popular in my neck of the woods (Massachusetts).

But out in Wyoming (and in other states like Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Texas, Utah), the predominate men’s hat is not a baseball cap.  Most guys (and gals) in the rural areas of these states wear a cowboy hat.  So, in this post, I’ll explain why this east coast guy started wearing a cowboy hat.

My Burning Issue

Back in the day when I was a kid, I never wore a hat other than when I played little league baseball.  I never of wore sunscreen until I was in college and never was aware of skin cancer risks.  In the summer, I ran around at the beach or town pool wearing just a pair of shorts and often got painful red sunburns.  Being light-skinned, I burn easily and my nose is especially sensitive.

When I was in college (and my hair started thinning on top), in addition to my nose getting sun burns, I’d get burns on the top of my head.  It was these sunburns that prompted me to start  wearing baseball hats.  Wearing a hat was neither a fashion statement nor a display of support for a sports team.  It was to protect my balding forehead and nose from getting blistering sunburns. As I lost more topside hair, it become more of a necessity.  For the next 30+ years, rarely did I venture out in the summer time without a baseball hat on my head.

Logos and Colors Matter

Early on, the color and logo of my hats didn’t matter so much.  But I eventually gravitated to some favorite logos for my hats.  My favorite baseball cap is an Irish green Red Sox hat.  I’m not a big Red Sox or baseball fan, but I am Irish.  And, that green hat with its red shamrock on the back will get me a friendly greeting in almost any New England sports bar.

I’m also a Nascar fan and like wearing hats for my favorite drivers – Jimmie Johnson (#48) and Dale Jr. (#88).   When I started going to races, I became aware of regional issues with certain hats.  Wearing my Irish green Red Sox hat at a race or in certain rural areas of the south, got me some less than friendly stares.  It’s like wearing a big neon sign that says – “I’m not from around here!”.  If I wear my #48 Jimmie Johnson hat or Florida Gators hat in those same areas, then I look like any good ol boy and seem to fit right in.

So, when I started traveling in my RV, I took along a small baseball hat collection – hats for the northern states and hats for the southern states.

My First Western Trip

In 2012, I took my first RV trip out to the western states.  It was my first time experiencing the high plains of western Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming.  While in these areas, I noticed that the sun seemed brighter and more intense.  I could feel in on my sensitive skin.  I also noticed that it was also much drier.  It felt like the moisture was being sucked out of my body.

I did some checking and found that at the higher elevations (above 5,000 ft), the sun’s UV rays are almost 20% more intense.  It’s also much drier once you get past the 98 meridian.  None of this was good for my sensitive skin.  While on this trip, I started putting on sunscreen everyday, drank lots of water, and tried to avoid being out in the peak sunny hours.

I also noticed lots of folks in the rural areas wearing different attire than me.  Most local people wore cowboy hats – men, women, and children.  I saw them on the streets, at events, in restaurants, and in coffee shops.  They also wore long sleeve shirts and pants while I was wearing shorts and tee shirts.  It made sense in this dry sunny climate.  This attire was not just for fashion, it was for sun protection.

It was on this 2012 trip, that I decided my baseball hat wasn’t cutting it for my travel based lifestyle.  If I was going to be spending much of my retirement days outside, I need a broad rimmed hat to keep the sun off my face.  And because of my awareness of regional differences, I didn’t want a Tilley, Booney, or Safari hat that screamed – “I’m a tourist”.   I wanted a hat like the locals wore – a straw cowboy hat with a nice band.

There are Lots of Choices

That’s what made me walk into the western wear store in Jackson Hole, WY where the owner commented on my green Red Sox baseball hat.  It was the wrong hat.  I didn’t buy a hat in her store that day, but I did buy a nice horse hair hat band that I currently wear.  And, after trying various styles and weaves, I eventually found “my hat”

When it comes to cowboy hats there are lots of choices.  I won’t go into all of them here as I already wrote a popular blog post about them which you can read here – Cowboy Hats – Facts, Folklore, and Fables.

My preferred cowboy hat is a straw 10X Resistol George Strait model or a 10X Stetson Lobo model.  These hats are both made in the US by Resistol and they’re almost identical.  The 10X designation is for the tightness and quality of the weave.  More XX’s means better quality.  I’ve been wearing these hats for the past 3 years.

It’s About Sun Protection

A couple or years ago, I noticed some possible sun damage on my skin.  I’ve got some keratosis spots on the sides of my face and hands.  They could be age related as I am in the geezer age class.  Or, they could be from all those years not wearing sun screen or the 55 years of not wearing broad rimmed hats.  It’s nothing cancerous, but they’re things my doctor and I are keeping an eye on.

And that’s the main reason I keep wearing the cowboy hat.  It’s not just to fit in when I’m out west and it’s not solely as a fashion choice.  I wear it everywhere I can for sun protection.  The folks out west figured out long ago that a broad rimmed hat was a necessity.   I find a cowboy hat does a great job at keeping the sun off my face.   They are also much cooler to wear than a baseball cap.  The vents in the hat’s crown allow air to escape and keep my head cool.  It’s almost like wearing a small umbrella on my head.  And, the added benefit is that it looks great on my head.

It’s Also My Brand

There’s a secondary reason why I wear a cowboy.  As I mentioned above, I started wearing one out of necessity back in 2012.  When I started my blog back in 2012, I read about branding – the importance of having a logo or image that people could connect with me and my blog.

It was about that time, that I saw a Vice Media documentary with owner Shane Smith doing the reporting.  Throughout the film, Shane wore a straw cowboy hat and a pair of Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses. I liked the look.  I already had a similar hat.  I bought a pair of Wayfarers and decided that would be my look, my brand, for J. Dawg Journeys.  A cowboy hat and a pair of Ray Bans.

So, there you have it.  The reasons why I wear a cowboy hat.  It’s 85% for sun protection, 10% for image, and 5% cause it just looks and feels so darn good.

If you have a cowboy hat question, I’ll be happy to try to answer it.