The sun hat emojis, ranked

hi flop

We underestimate the sun hat emoji, also known as woman’s hat emoji.¹ I’ve leaned into this emoji more in the past year and can’t recommend it enough. She’s carefree and whimsical with a dash of poshness. I use the sun hat emoji to signify something along the lines of “don’t care, having fun, playing.” Often coupled with 💅, ✨, or 🌷. But the sun hat emoji stands on her own just fine, too.

She’s also extremely varied among different apps and OSes compared to most emojis. And since life is a competition and virtue is linear, there can only be one Best Sun Hat.

Let’s go.

22. emojidex

I despise this. Do not talk to me about it.

21. Apple

The height here is deeply offensive to me. No sun hat should present this much of a nubbin. It also feels like someone designed a bow first and then tried to put a hat under it. And like they had never seen a human head before doing so.

The ninety-degree angle of the ribbon crunching over the brim of the hat is the final blow. Do better. It makes me sick that this is the sun hat most people in the US see.

20. PlayStation

I didn’t know PlayStation ever had its own emojis, but it seems like maybe they shouldn’t have bothered? Its smallness is charming, though.

19. Docomo/KDDI

I appreciate the minimalist approach and perilous angle here, but the brim reads as swollen and cushiony rather than bending in the breeze. The ribbon strands should also be further apart.

18. Facebook Messenger

This one does and says nothing. A coward’s hat.

17. JoyPixels

This version of the sun hat emoji is for someone, but it is not for me. It at least makes some unique decisions: angled up and to the right, blue ribbon instead of purple or red or green.

This hat also feels very adult. She probably has frequent flyer miles and a fireproof safe.

16. SoftBank

The sheen is baffling, the outline is too much, the bow is apologizing for itself… and yet…

15. Skype

The conceit with both this one and Apple’s version is that the person wearing the hat has their back to you. This is strange. Again with the severe ribbon draping, made even more militant by centering the bow. Seems ripe for TERFs?

I bumped this one up in the list because the lack of shading and outline pleases me, as does the tri-tone ribbon.

14. OpenMoji

I laughed out loud when I saw this one. “Fine, I’ll draw a fucking hat.”

13. Microsoft Teams

There is a rubberiness here that unsettles me. And why is the crown so square? A lot of the revamped Teams emojis subscribe to a kind of blobular alternate reality, but the physics of this one are too much. I dislike how the brim appears entirely flat and facing the viewer, as if it’s a band-aid stuck to your screen. But points for originality and risk-taking.

12. Microsoft

A slight improvement on the above: less band-aidy, and the bow evokes less of a downward perspective. It’s fine.

11. Samsung

Getting into purple! I respect this one, but she could be doing more. And again we’re running into that issue where the design focus is more on the ribbon than the hat.

Regardless, it is a nice hat. This hat has a regular gel manicure regimen and has been to 2 Meghan Trainor concerts.

10. WhatsApp

A departure. This is the most no-nonsense version of the sun hat emoji. The only one without a bow, and its shape would probably block the most sun IRL.

This hat has a strong sense of justice. She is on the rapid response phone tree for like 5 local nonprofits and got thrown out of the state capitol once. You go girl.

9. HTC

This one embraces brown more than most of the others do, and I welcome the use of a flower. The one thick ribbon hanging straight down is odd, but at least it has a point of view. This hat enjoys making punch needle rugs.

8. Twitter

She is very Gen Z and makes me feel young. A flower detail like the HTC one, but the extra pop of yellow really brings it home.

I don’t love the centering here, but the color combo makes up for it. I can see Portia on The White Lotus wearing this with some olive green tie dye and a Naruto choker.

7. Twitter emoji stickers(?)

This is camp. Such lush detail on the bow, a tiny crease on the band!!!, an oversized front brim compared to the suggested width of the sides and back, and we’ve got honest-to-god magenta rather than red. She is the pinkest sun hat emoji we have, and I love her for that.

Lipstick baby pillow princess vibes. Find her on the deck of her much older girlfriend’s yacht with a banana daiquiri.

6. TossFace (토스페이스)

This one makes so many wild choices it’s impossible to hate. Why is it so sharp? How come it looks like a chicken head? And given the angle here, it seems like the bow would be positioned at the wearer’s temple/over one eye? OK!

5. Mozilla

Derivative, but I succumb to the pastel roundness. This is Sanrio.

4. Facebook

Oh, now this, this is how you mourn. This sun hat knows loss but has not closed herself off to the staggering beauty of the world. Look at that bow. Look at that flop of the brim. And the straw texture! It’s all so romantic I could cry. She belongs on a beach at dusk.

3. Noto Emoji (Google)

More monochrome, more nice texture moments. The restraint of the straw lines is very pleasant, and I adore the sheen of the bow, the subtle curves of the ribbon strands. We are reading an indie graphic novel.

This is also one of the few versions I want to personally wear. It feels both very real and untouchable at the same time, which I think is true of all the best emojis.

2. LG

This one changes the game. One-of-a-kind orientation going on. Is it hung up on a hook? Visionary. And a yellow ribbon?! Surprising yet inevitable! Bonus: it also looks like a little chicken nugget man doing jumping jacks.

While it might not convey as well at a smaller size, this one is the platonic ideal of a sun hat to me.

1. Google

There she is. This is my everything. We have here the finesse of the Noto Emoji version but in full living color. An angle on the bow like we haven’t seen. Expert shading on the straw effect. Movement. Frivolity. A rich inner world.

This one is cradling a pitcher full of peonies! She’s skipping! She has a piano recital later—her beau is expected in the audience! And the lemon bars came out lovely.

As an Android schlub, when I use the sun hat emoji, this is what I am using. Please remember this and try to see past Apple’s green abomination. Thank you, and good night.

Please let me know your favorite sun hat emoji so I can fight with you 💕

1. This is apparently its official Unicode name. Write your representatives!