A mate of mine is a Sunglasses Guy. Everywhere he goes, rain or shine, he's got a pair on. He wears them outdoors, indoors, at night, and always manages to somehow look cool. I once saw him drop a pair down the side of a patio and then pull another from his bag without even pausing his conversation. Meanwhile, Adam Cheung, GQ's style writer, is a Sneaker Guy. He owns 350 pairs and wears one every day. You can go more niche, if you wish. Actor Xelia Mendes-Jones told me he's a Cuban Shirt Guy. I, myself, am a Sports Merch Guy.

But no matter our thing, we're all Hat Guys. Yes, you. In fact, you know what, especially you. Even if you've got some lame excuse about the size of your head or the shape of your ears, every guy is a Hat Guy. And if you think you're not, it's because you simply haven't met the right hat.

Let's start with the baseball cap. The easiest play. The platonic ideal. The high school sweetheart. A lot of the time, when someone tells me they're "not a hat person," it's because they've bought a cap, shoved it on and felt stupid. Which, you know: fair! Feeling like everyone is staring at you and knowing "you don't wear hats" is half the battle. But you're missing some easy plays here.

Firstly, your hat is too new. If you've just bought that puppy from a store and popped it on, then yeah, it's going to feel out of place. The best caps are the ones that feel worn and look a little busted because they've been on your head through surprise storms, beer sprays, five-a-side matches, and hiking trips. Caps look better weathered. Your first port of call should be chucking that sucker into the washing machine a couple of times and then wearing the shit out of it. No, seriously, bend the visor, scuff up the crown, leave it to fade in the sun.

Fabio Immediato, a stylist who looks after guys like Joseph Quinn and James McAvoy, tells me hats look best when they "don't have the new factor" which makes them appear alien. For that reason, "I tend to buy a lot of vintage caps," he says. That advice extends to the famous guys he styles, too.

"I was styling Patrick Ball from The Pitt, and we were actually having this exact conversation," says Immediato. "He was going to some press junket, and he was like, 'Fabio, baseball cap or no cap?'" The pair ummed and ahhed over it for a minute, before Ball ended up going for it. "And he looked good," says Immediato. It looked good because it looked natural - faded, the crown soft and worn. Like he owned it, not just loaned it.

Another thing guys get wrong is your hat having nothing to do with you. Hats are a delectable opportunity to get specific. The best ones are from that tiny seaside town you visited in Italy, or nod to that shitty football team you're in a life-long abusive relationship with, or rep your local cafe where they know your weird-ass coffee order by heart. When there's a little story, some anecdote you can lazily whip out when asked, it makes the hat feel like yours, instead of an anonymous accessory you're trying to make work.

Laurence Joslin, EMEA brand director of New Era, which specialises in caps, truckers, beanies and buckets, points out that the fit has to be right, too. "I don't know anybody who's not a cap guy," he tells me over the phone. His best advice for expert cap-wearing is "make sure it fits well." Around the head and with the height of the crown, ensure it fits nicely and doesn't squeeze. For newbies, he recommends a shopping trip to try on a bunch of sizes. Then, once it fits like a glove (or, maybe a crown?), customise it. Do you want to remove the stickers? Shape the visor? Wear it high on the head, or low over the eyes? "There's no rules on what you can or can't do. If you feel good in it, then that works," says Joslin.

This advice extends to all hats: beanies, buckets, flat caps, berets, sailors, hell, even the much-maligned fedora has its place ("I love fedora hats on older gentlemen, that I'm totally with," says Immediato). Maybe you started with a cap and couldn't find it within yourself to bite the bullet. That's OK! If a cap isn't for you, then a beanie will be. If not a beanie, then a bucket, and it goes on and on.

The point being, there's no melon out there that doesn't suit a hat. Only melons that haven't met the right one. And the journey begins with you.

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