Newport Raffia Straw Hat

This is my 3rd Helen Kaminski hat. I bought my first one 3 years ago this summer coming up. On the first day I wore it to an outdoor event on a very sunny day I was one of three people who wore one and everyone loved it. I received many compliments. On the next event I noticed that many people pulled out their hats too! My hat came in excellent condition and I do take care of it since even at the reduced price it’s a bit expensive. I’m sorry that other customers didn’t have a good experience. If the only reason why you hold back is the bad reviews and you’re able to afford it, go for it and if you don’t like the quality, just return it. I did a bit of research and found that Helen Kaminski has high ethical standards and uses high quality materials and that’s the main reason why I chose this brand and yes, they feel great when they are protecting me from the sun! I also own less expensive hats that are very pretty as well but for a nice outdoor event or special occasion these hats are beautiful!

The design of the hat is beautiful, but the quality control is terrible. I had to look through numerous hats at numerous stores before I found one that was passable. The ribbon was fraying on some. On many, the raffia was sticking out in various places and fraying in others. Many looked very sloppily made for such an expensive hat. If you're picky, my advice is to not order the hat online. Check it out in store and make sure you don't get one of the "defective" ones.

I have had my Newport Raffia Hat in Natural/Coastal for over 10 years and traveled all over Europe. My hat is in superb shape. I wear mine almost a year round. I was not looking for a replacement hat, just wanted some blush pink vibes. The Nougat Lotus is much darker than the picture shows and the ribbon is a light brown. My hat arrived without a Kaminski's box and the quality was inferior than my coastal one. The raffia pokes at different angles while placing your hand on top. Every row you can see so much imperfection, poor quality and material poking out. Please make it right for the price of this hat, Helen Kaminski!!