By Nate Smith | Broadcast Reporter

In Texas we wear hats, and we wear them often. Cowboy hats, baseball caps, trucker hats, bucket hats — you name it, we probably wear it. With that in mind, there is something to be said for knowing when to wear what kind of hat.

At face value, this may seem like nothing more than semantics, but I truly believe that a hat can make or break your outfit. When someone is wearing a good hat, it’s like topping a Christmas gift with a neat little bow. It isn’t essential, but it can be the thing that ties your look together.

In the same way, a bad hat can be the thing that completely destroys an outfit. When someone is wearing a bad hat, it instantly becomes their defining physical characteristic, a disaster that you just can’t seem to take your eyes off of.

All of that begs the question, “When is it okay for me to wear a hat?” Of course, that depends on the hat in question.

First, we’ll discuss the hat that almost always makes a statement, the cowboy hat. Everyone loves the cowboy hat, but just because everyone loves it, doesn’t mean that everyone should wear it. When you see someone sporting a nice felt cowboy hat in a suit, you’re basically instantly drawn to them. You know that they’re “the man” and so do they. The same can be said for a nice straw hat in a more casual setting during the warmer months of the year.

However, when you see someone brandishing a brand new pair of boots, a pretty new hat and skinny jeans, chances are that person is the exact opposite of “the man.” They’re someone you look at and wonder, “who let you leave the house like that?”

Now we have what is probably the least offensive of all types of hats, the baseball cap. Baseball caps are by no means flashy, but they are perfect for the purposes that they serve. Great for anything from attending a ballgame to hiding a bad hair day, baseball caps are nothing if they aren’t reliable. While you may get a few sideways looks for sporting one of these puppies with something like a suit and tie, for the most part you can’t go wrong with a good ol’ ball cap.

Finally, we have the baseball cap’s rowdy younger brother, the trucker hat. If you’ve looked around in the last couple of years, you’ve seen these guys make a serious resurgence, and personally I’m here for it. They’re similar to the baseball cap in that they’re super versatile, but where they differ is in the attitude that comes along with the hat.

Trucker hats convey a much more relaxed and laid back attitude than their sporty counterparts. There’s something about a backwards trucker hat that just screams “I just want to chill with the boys.” With that in mind, you should be at least a little careful of pairing one of these with an outfit that doesn’t fit the vibes that the hat provides.

Like I said before, hats can make or break any outfit. Use that to your advantage.