Why do grown men insist on wearing baseball caps everywhere? They wear them with suits and even to the theater. Does anyone else think this trend has gotten out of control? — Christine, New York
It is true, the baseball cap has become such a ubiquitous item of clothing that the British milliner Stephen Jones told me they were “the tiara of America.” But it was not always thus.
According to Major League Baseball, the concept of a hat worn during a baseball game (the better to see fly balls in the sun) was introduced by the New York Knickerbockers in 1849, but it was a natty straw number. The baseball cap as we know it — with its dome shape and duckbill brim — began to appear a few years later. The logo arrived in 1894, thanks to the Boston Baseball Club (now the Atlanta Braves), and the mascot in 1901, with the Detroit Tigers.
But it wasn’t until 1947 that New Era, a haberdashery company in New York, created the 59Fifty, or what is now the standard structured baseball cap. And it took more than 30 years for it to make the leap from sports to pop culture.
That happened in the 1980s: Think of Tom Selleck as Magnum in “Magnum P.I.” with his Hawaiian shirts and Tigers caps; the rapper Chuck D of Public Enemy with his Pirates cap; and Eazy-E of N.W.A., with his White Sox hat. From there, caps proliferated.
A baseball cap became a fashion hack for anyone who wanted to display a hint of individuality or community while simultaneously wearing whatever professional or social camouflage was required (Exhibit A being bankers in suits with baseball caps).
And it was a short leap from that to the Met Gala. See Chance the Rapper’s 2021 Ralph Lauren look, complete with a cap, and the musician Frank Ocean’s look the same year. (And it’s not just for men; Kylie Jenner wore an Off-White bridal baseball cap to the gala in 2022.)
The cap craze may have reached its apex with the $625 Loro Piana cashmere-blend number worn by Jeremy Strong’s character in the HBO show “Succession,” which became the embodiment of the stealth wealth surge.
As to how all this happened, Noah Johnson, the global style director of GQ, attributes it to a combination of three factors: “a more casual atmosphere, an engaged men’s fashion market and a moment of heightened individuality.” Hats, he said, are the male equivalent of handbags, “an easy entry point at the designer level.”
Combined with the rise of merch, which, Mr. Johnson said created “more opportunities for people to declare their identity through style, whether with a Dead & Company T-shirt or a MAGA hat,” you get the perfect environment for peak cap.
As with many trends, however, caps have been adopted faster than the etiquette around wearing them has evolved. Further complicating the issue is the fact that dress codes in general have fallen out of favor, not just in the workplace but in most places, as institutions have become wary of infringing on individual rights. Instead, everyone has to wrestle with the vague suggestion that they dress “appropriately.” So what does that mean, in cap terms? Consider the social contract.
“You should always take your hat off when you sit down to eat, whether that’s in a restaurant or at a friend’s dining table,” Mr. Johnson said.
Guy Trebay, our men’s wear critic, added: “As with cellphones left on speaker in public, consider the existence of others. Whether ball cap, porkpie or fedora, guys should doff their hats indoors, not just because custom considers it rude not to, but because concert seats don’t come cheap.”
And finally, Mr. Johnson said, “I like to take off my hat and sunglasses, if I’m wearing them, when I meet someone for the first time. It’s a sign of respect to let them see you.”
Hats off to that one.
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