Toptote Hat Clip: Your Perfect Travel Companion

I am a big fan of bringing hats with me when I travel. As I’ve gotten older and wiser about skin care, I’ve realized hats are crucial for keeping the sun off of my face at the beach or while cruising around sightseeing all day. However, what I’m decidedly not a fan of is the constant dilemma of how to pack a hat and what to do with it when you’re indoors or just don’t want to wear it.

Nowadays, with shrinking luggage allowances, hat boxes are completely impractical. Therefore, I’ve resorted to stashing hats inside a big tote bag — but even then it would often get crushed and lose its shape — or, even worse, I would just awkwardly carry the hat in my hands.

But I’m here to tell you that those days are gone. I’ve found the perfect travel accessory: the Toptote hat clip. This little gadget is so simple yet so ingenious — I wonder how something like this didn’t really exist before.

Convenience at Its Best

Clip the metal carabiner ring around a bag strap, snap the magnet around the brim of your hat, and voilà! Your hat stays securely attached to your bag, and you’ll have two hands free, plus the invaluable option to wear or not wear your hat. Take all the pictures you want, go shopping, roam around museums, and go seamlessly from boat rides to restaurants and back to the beach — all without the annoyance of carrying your hat in your hands. Moreover, if you’re like me and have a tendency to set things down and forget about them, you now won’t be at risk of leaving your hat behind.

Strong and Sturdy

The magnet is surprisingly strong, making it unlikely for your hat to fall from someone brushing past or a strong wind, and the metal ring is extremely sturdy — I can see this lasting me for years to come. Plus, its clever design looks like a keychain, and at just a few inches long, you can leave the Toptote on your bag even when you’re not using a hat. I leave mine secured to the handle of my carry-on weekender so I won’t forget it or lose it. Best of all, I love that the design of the clip allows your hat to rest completely flat, keeping the brim nice and intact.

A Range of Designs

Toptote comes in a few different designs, my favorite being a woven leather drop shape, which comes in a variety of colors, including black, white, and yellow. There’s also a luggage tag version with a window for your contact information that you can snap around a luggage handle. For those traveling with two hats, simply stack them and snap both brims into the magnet, and you’re ready to jet.

Creator’s Vision

Created by Los Angeles-based fashion stylist Lindsay Albanese, this little gadget fulfills a need she saw for a way to carry hats. “There has to be a better solution than that antiquated hat box,” she says. Having mulled the idea over in her head for years before making the first prototypes, she wanted to ensure that whatever she introduced would embody her vision for “serviceable style” and “bring ease and order into your life.” Consequently, her hat clip sold out at Nordstrom stores and online in just two weeks after its launch.

However, don’t worry; it is currently back and fully stocked. To get your own Toptote, check out the link below. For anyone who likes to travel with a hat, I promise this will change your travel experience for the better.

To buy: nordstrom.com, $48