Sure, hats in Stardew Valley are purely cosmetic clothing items, but they're still great to own and can do a lot to help players express their style and personality. Players can even put them on children, horses, and sea urchins in fish tanks. There are dozens of hats in the game, and tons of different ways of unlocking them and getting them.
Some hats will only be sold via the Hat Mouse, which inhabits the Ruined House south of Cindersap Forest. Other hats can only be tailored. Some can only be obtained during festivals, at the Casino, the Adventurer's Guild, or the Skull Cavern. So, out of all the hat options in the game, which ones are the absolute best?
SPOILERS AHEAD: This article has major Stardew Valley end-game spoilers. Proceed with caution.
7 Garbage Hat
The name might not sound too appealing, but this hat is definitely hilarious! It's basically just like wearing a garbage can lid on one's head, and it's ridiculously delightful.
This hat was first introduced with update 1.4. Players can only get it after they've opened at least 20 garbage cans in their playthrough, and even then, there's still only a 0.2% chance of it actually popping out of a can. When this happens, the garbage can will not have a new lid on for a while afterwards.
6 Frog Hat
The frog hat is one of the cutest hats in the game. It's nearly the size of the character's head, so besides being adorable, it's also a very comical sight to see.
This hat can be obtained by fishing in the Gourmand Frog's cave on Ginger Island. There's a 10% chance that it'll pop out of the water while fishing. However, if there's not enough space in the player's inventory, it'll just go back into the water; thus, it's important to keep an eye out for this small detail. It's possible to own as many of these hats as possible so it wouldn't hurt to get one for the farm horse.
5 Propeller Hat
The propeller hat can only be obtained through the tailoring mechanic added with the 1.4 update. Using the sewing machine inside Emily and Haley's house, the player can craft it using one Cloth and one Miner's Treat.
There are tons of recipes in the game, and to earn the Miner's Treat recipe, the player must first reach mining level three. Once the recipe is obtained, the dish can be prepared in the player's kitchen with two Cave Carrots, one Sugar, and one Milk. Alternatively, the Dwarf will also sell Miner's Treats for 1,000g each.
Although the hat looks awesome, it's a shame that it doesn't move at all unless the Animated Clothes mod is installed. It's just one of tons of mods that make the game even better.
4 Chicken Mask
Chickens are one of the most recognizable Stardew Valley sprites. They're adorably designed, and so what could be better than wearing a lookalike as a hat?
The chicken hat can be obtained from the Hat Mouse for 1,000g after the player has earned the A Big Help achievement. This achievement is obtained once the player has successfully completed 40 Help Wanted requests, which are posted every day on the Bulletin Board outside Pierre's General Store. Players have been having lots of fun with this hat, putting it on their kids, their horses, and even getting married with it on.
3 Gnome's Cap
The gnome's cap may look like a simple green hood, but it's oddly similar to the green cap of a certain Hylian boy: Link from the Legend of Zelda series. And that's exactly what makes this item so great, being able to have one's character look like Link himself.
The hat is only 1,000g, and can be bought at the Ruined House from the Hat Mouse. However, it's only available after the player has gotten the Craft Master achievement, which requires them to craft every item.
2 Golden Mask
The golden mask is a Calico Desert relic that can be turned into an actual in-game mask. According to the artifact's description it's thought a golden mask that was used in ancient magic rituals. It has a 3% chance of appearing in artifact spots in the Desert.
If taken to the sewing machine with one Cloth, it can be turned into a wearable mask that the player can show off by putting it on. It looks exactly like the real thing!
1 ???
The ??? hat's description reads nothing but "???" as well. It's the hardest hat to obtain in the game, but it's definitely worth it because it represents the man, the legend: ConcernedApe, the creator of Stardew Valley.
To be able to even access the hat, one has to reach 100% perfection, which involves basically completing everything there is to complete in the game. After doing this, if the player interacts with the red monkey in The Forge in the Volcano Dungeon on Ginger Island, they will receive the secret ??? hat.