Sun Visors Aren't Just For Grandmas, Golfers, or Kardashians

An ode to the half-moon headgear, the underdog of millinery.

By Jessie Schiewe

When I saw Kim and Kourtney Kardashian rocking matching black and yellow sunday visors on Instagram to mark National Sibling Day last year, my offset reaction was: Dammit! Then I thought, What am I going to do now that my kooky style signifier is officially a thing?

I've been wearing sun visors for 5 years, and i of the chief reasons why I've enjoyed them so much is because they aren't absurd. In fact, yous could say they're the antithesis of information technology. Ix times out of 10, I'g the sole person wearing one, and in a sea of fedoras and baseball caps, they brand me easier to spot in a crowd.

I've always had an awkward human relationship with hats.

Blame it on my head shape or face structure, merely they've simply never looked good on me. Whether it's a straw beach hat, a flat-summit bolero, or a J. Lo floppy ane, hats always looks goofy or pompous when on my head. Even when I had cancer as a teenager and went bald, I refused to clothing hats, opting for bandanas or wigs instead.

Lord's day visors entered the moving-picture show only by accident. I was visiting my grandmother a few years ago, helping her clean out her closets, when I found a trio of braided, straw visors on a shelf. They smelled a bit like moth balls, but I was able to expect beyond that. I liked the fact that they had velcro enclosures and so I could fasten them equally tightly equally needed. Even amend, I could nonetheless wear my hair in a bun or ponytail when I put ane on.

My grandma hadn't worn the visors since the '80s and had no bug departing with them. Even though they were slightly dorky — very "senior chic" — I was elated to accept found a solution that was unique and versatile.

The writer sporting one of her many sun visors.

The writer sporting one of her many sun visors.

The first fourth dimension I wore 1 of the sunday visors in public was to a Fourth of July party, with my hair in a topknot secured by a white scrunchie. Combining the two retro items worked a kind of magic because I received several compliments on my headgear that day. Emboldened, I started wearing them more than ofttimes, and past the end of that summer, I was a convert.

Since then, I've added to my sunday visor collection. There's a Korean homegoods store near where I live that stocks a number of brightly colored cotton models that clip to your head. Unfortunately, those can sometimes crusade headaches if you vesture them for as well long, so I besides buy ones that are secured with twisted cords or ribbon ties.

Photo: The Kokomo Visor by Maurie + Eve

Town Talk, a 100-year-quondam, family-run company based in Louisville, Kentucky, has go a favorite of mine always since I stumbled upon their online shop. Their sun visors are glitzy and playful, busy with rhinestones, animate being impress fabrics, and even hot chili pepper patterns.

For a more foursquare-shaped visor, there's Glove It, which also employs bling and bright patterns. Y'all can fifty-fifty buy gloves, towels, and bags to friction match with your visor.

And it's non similar yous take to go to a special sun visor store to get your easily on one. Now that they're "cool," y'all can find them at tons of shops, including Forever XXI, Lululemon, ASOS, Free People, Dolls Kill, Urban Outfitters, and many others.

Of form, Rihanna has been wearing dominicus visors for even longer than I have, with the first reported sightings of her wearing one dating effectually 2012. But in 2018, sun visors officially went mainstream. Tommy Hilfiger sent them down the runway. Dior gave u.s.a. the definitive version, in brightly colored perspex. Burberry did them in plaid. And, since mode ever trickles downwardly, places similar Ross and Target now sell them, likewise.

Photo: Straw sun visor by Urban Outfitters

Am I bitter? Kind of. It was fun standing out, and I miss having people come up to me and start conversations purely because of my unorthodox headwear. Now, when I clothing my baby pink gingham visor, I merely wait similar a Kardashian wannabe trying desperately to be trendy.

Like almost things in fashion, the Reign of the Sun Visor probably won't final long. All the same, when the remainder of the world moves on to the next large hat craze — the safari helmet, possibly? — I'll notwithstanding be wearing them, proving one time and for all that sunday visors aren't just for grandmas, golfers, or Kardashians.

(This commodity was originally published on May 22, 2019)

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