Another baseball cap fashion faux pas is wearing it with full business attire. New York Jets owner Woody Johnson is a primary offender and ends up looking like the pizza delivery guy whenever he does this.
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It is common knowledge among those who study such things that wearing a 'ball cap backwards reduces the wearer's IQ by about 10 points per wearer's age, i. e., the longer the cap is worn backwards the more stupid the wearer becomes.
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Mr. Patterson may know about fashion history but his knowledge of baseball history leaves a bit to be desired.
That 1903 World Series did not initiate the codification of new rules. It was arranged by the two teams playing in it and did not officially involve either major league. The first WS to be played under formal rules established by the leagues was the next one in 1905 (there was no WS in 1904; the reason why is another story).
That 1903 World Series did not initiate the codification of new rules. It was arranged by the two teams playing in it and did not officially involve either major league. The first WS to be played under formal rules established by the leagues was the next one in 1905 (there was no WS in 1904; the reason why is another story).
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Please, please, please... take them off when inside! Thanks!
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I learned to be patient with my Little League sons who carefully, over days, curved the bill of their hats around a Campbell's Soup can with rubber bands. The brim had to be just so!
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Enjoyed the article.
I wear a Brooklyn Dodger's baseball hat.
The dodgers went to LA, and I lost my enthusiasm for them as they were no longer, "Dem Bums".
A reminder of simpler days, but not necessarily missed.
I wear a Brooklyn Dodger's baseball hat.
The dodgers went to LA, and I lost my enthusiasm for them as they were no longer, "Dem Bums".
A reminder of simpler days, but not necessarily missed.
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Does anyone really think that a man looks as suave or as sexy in a baseball cap as in a fedora? Look at pictures of movie stars in the 1950s, and compare them with even the handsome Mr. Selleck in his baseball cap.
Men in fedoras also removed them inside buildings... including restaurants. Doffing and donning the headgear formed a kind of art form that just doesn't work with baseball hats, even on the rare occasion when a man takes it off.
A few years ago my son tried on a friend's fedora-- Voila! Instant movie star.
Men in fedoras also removed them inside buildings... including restaurants. Doffing and donning the headgear formed a kind of art form that just doesn't work with baseball hats, even on the rare occasion when a man takes it off.
A few years ago my son tried on a friend's fedora-- Voila! Instant movie star.
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Sure wish I could find the style of the original baseball cap!
You know, the kind that has a very short bill, no crown and a shallow globe that fits the head with no empty space inside above the head.
You know, the kind that has a very short bill, no crown and a shallow globe that fits the head with no empty space inside above the head.
The style in California is to wear them OVER the ears, bill pristine like it just came out of the package--and it looks ridiculous. And, of course, the reason to NOT wear one now, is that EVERYONE is wearing one--you know the kind--the one-size fits all with the plastic snap band in the back. How cheesy. There is nothing really special about it. It is an imitated style just like Don Johnson's stubble became the rage for a long time, and we seem to be back to that again. grow a beard--or shave guys.
It does represent the lowest common denominator in dress for men (and sadly, for women who have a nearly unlimited range of hat styles and clothing but choose to wear a babeball cap) that goes along with the baggy pants, t-shirts, flip-flops and a 2 day beard shadow. For most men, sartorial is a word in the dictionary, never mind the splendor of it all.
It does represent the lowest common denominator in dress for men (and sadly, for women who have a nearly unlimited range of hat styles and clothing but choose to wear a babeball cap) that goes along with the baggy pants, t-shirts, flip-flops and a 2 day beard shadow. For most men, sartorial is a word in the dictionary, never mind the splendor of it all.
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Here's a novel idea: Don't wear a baseball cap. We don't care which team you support. Like religion, just keep it to yourself. And if you must wear it, please do not wear at the dinner table. Thank you.
Hold the Brickbats, please.
Hold the Brickbats, please.
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There used to be baseball cards which were outside the formal purview of organized ball where players were pictured wearing generic caps with no team ID to avoid legal issues. Guess that would also fit your request.
And there's the retro 59Fifty 1950's Brooklyn Dodgers cap. High front, gently curved brim, worn proudly, symbolizing the best of baseball days for those old enough to root for the Bums.
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I wear my RF Roger Federer cap with pride! Brilliant money-making business with a new color for each segment of the season, every year.
The size of the bill is important too - if it is longer, especially with a fishhook slid over it, it is the classic Southern pseudo-redneck - NEVER worn backwards. I recall the first white man I saw with his baseball cap on backwards . . . "cultural theft" was the judgment of him at that time, circa 1985.
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Very nice article. But in fact New Era and MLB have a complete legal monopoly that they enforce ruthlessly and that somehow never comes up.
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Quite possibly the lamest look to be found is any male over the age of 10 wearing a baseball cap backwards. The lameness quality doubles when the wannabe cool one wears the cap backwards and inside a building. Lameness increases exponentially as the sad sack ages.
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Curious how the rise in the numbers wearing baseball cap coincides with the loss of America's middle class. Along with t-shirts, artificially faded jeans, and running shoes, the baseball cap has become part of the new uniform for Americans unconsciously grasping for commonality, as the society becomes more polarized and atomized. Perhaps the lowly cap will help save us.
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I was taught that a man always removes his hat/cap indoors. What is it about a baseball cap that permits wearers to keep them on in restaurants and other indoor places?
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What permits them? Their lack of manners.
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Probably lack of social graces!
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Patterson has written a wonderfully entertaining piece on the psychology of ball cap wearers.
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Sigh! When I got out of the US Army in 1953 I never wore a hat of any kind again.
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You were ahead of your time. For the most part, fedoras were a required part of the daily outfit of most white collar workers. President Kennedy, who didn't like hats, is often credited with killing off a large part of the hat industry in this country, due to men following his hatless style, which didn't revive until the rise of baseball caps.
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In my youth, I would fold down the left and right edges of the brim to vertical with the idea of further restricting glare from the sides. Haven't worn a baseball cap in decades, however.
Far out. I think i was that cool kid in the 90s that removed the buckram from the front. . . I like my caps snug.
This is a brilliantly written and constructed article. "To gain a frayed edge" was particularly nice. It's also quite convincing: the Tom Selleck and Spike Lee inflection points had never occurred to me, but they feel absolutely right.
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How can this article possibly be written with no mention of the trucker hat!? Yes, I get it's not a "cap," but it's virtually identical and operates in the same sartorial space. Would love to read further analysis of how/why different age groups and interest groups (I'm thinking action sports) have co-opted these boxy, mesh-backed, flat-brimmed monstrosities. Trucker hats are not manipulated and personalized like baseball caps. Wearing one is sort of claim to authenticity, thanks to the hat's working man roots. And the huge, billboard-like forehead space (ideal for logos and art) allows the wearer to market his own clever taste.
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Over time it has gotten more difficult to find an unadorned, un-"branded" cap.
Outstanding piece. The baseball cap say so much about the person whose head is under it. Thank you for putting it in historic and cultural perspective. This "oldster" (I'm 45) still prefers the unstructured cap, and sometimes I wear it a bit askew when the situation warrants. I get a kick out of my 8-year-old son's flat-brimmed cap. And, when I'm coaching, I enjoy the unity that comes with us all wearing our Little League team's cap - usually the most traditional kind. One rule a good friend once imparted to me in no uncertain terms: Once you pass 30, stop wearing the cap backwards.
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"The baseball cap say so much about the person whose head is under it."
Yes it does.
Unless he is actively engaged in playing baseball while he is wearing it, it says that he is immature and unselfconsciously (if not proudly) wearing the clothing of a child.
Yes it does.
Unless he is actively engaged in playing baseball while he is wearing it, it says that he is immature and unselfconsciously (if not proudly) wearing the clothing of a child.
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"One rule a good friend once imparted to me in no uncertain terms: Once you pass 30, stop wearing the cap backwards."
The backward cap strongly implies a penchant for rational intellectual inquiry, right?
The backward cap strongly implies a penchant for rational intellectual inquiry, right?
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There was a simple reason why the MLB ball cap and other high profile caps were not fashionable in years past. They were not widely distributed and sold to the general public. As sports-crazed lads in the 1970s, we wanted them but could not get them.
I wanted an Oakland A's cap to match a green and yellow jacket. I could not get it. I wanted a black Ohio State cap to achieve an ironic Woody Hayes look. I could not get it. Now those items are ubiquitous.
Way back when, stagnant, hidebound owners discovered how to unleash revenue streams to offset the cost of free agency. Now everyone could have a cap.
Previously sports were not thought of as big business. They were a coffee break.
I wanted an Oakland A's cap to match a green and yellow jacket. I could not get it. I wanted a black Ohio State cap to achieve an ironic Woody Hayes look. I could not get it. Now those items are ubiquitous.
Way back when, stagnant, hidebound owners discovered how to unleash revenue streams to offset the cost of free agency. Now everyone could have a cap.
Previously sports were not thought of as big business. They were a coffee break.
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If you ever watch TV shows from the 1950s, you will see that baseball caps at the time were a regular part of many little boys' daily wear.
Excellent article. As a professional in my 30s my guilty delight is to wear one of several Nerbaska Cornhuskers (My only sports loyalty--a team for which my father played and that still inspires a ritualistic autumnal pilgrimage to Lincoln) caps each day on a rotating basis. If going anywhere but the gym or grocery store I tend to ask my wife "Does wearing a cap make me look like a 'dude'?" and she will invariably reply "You ARE a dude; just embrace it." I feel a bit horrified to be a 'dude', but somehow convince myself that wearing baseball caps is, in some sense, "ironic", and go back to contentedly shielding my eyes from the sun, supporting my team and hiding my slightly premature male-pattern baldness.
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Love it. But why the Mets hat with a Yankee reference?
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And please note. The best way to clean your baseball cap if it gets grimy and (ugh) sweat stained is in the dishwasher. Just put it on the top rack with the dishes and it will come out pristine at the end of the cycle. Take it from this SF Giants fan who wears her cap with pride.
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That's hot...
Not a great idea if you have a wool baseball cap.
Ball caps are also a form of "social networking"
For instance seeing a fellow (suffering) Mets fan (in NY or anywhere else) brings about communication, be it a sigh, mutual hope or despair (depending on the month).
LET'S GO METS!
As of this writing they have a perfect record.
For instance seeing a fellow (suffering) Mets fan (in NY or anywhere else) brings about communication, be it a sigh, mutual hope or despair (depending on the month).
LET'S GO METS!
As of this writing they have a perfect record.
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Certainly nothing in the least bit folksy about what it costs now to go to a Yankees game. With decent seats at least $150 plus all the other outrageous prices added, a trip for two to Yankee Stadium is soon in the $400 range.
Just one more thing along with health care and higher education that has been pulled away from the vast majority of us.
Just one more thing along with health care and higher education that has been pulled away from the vast majority of us.
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In the WW2 USAF, Pilots and AirCrew removed the inside wire of their caps to show they were involved in the AirWar. This gave a really nice crumpled look. JG-
They removed the wire so you could wear the hat with headphones.
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Ahhh... The Fifty Mission Crush.
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wonderful fact
This article ignores another major mover in 'mainstreaming' wearing baseball caps: The US Navy's distinctive dark blue caps with gold letter with the name and number of the vessel. The Navy began broadly wearing ballcaps in the 1960s when the hull numbers were sewn on the front. The ability of Soviet satellites to read the numbering on the caps brought an end to this style. In the mid 70s the navy adopted the modern style with the more recent addition of qualification logos, such as submariner's dolphins.
The curved style of lettering across the top has been mimicked around the world.
The curved style of lettering across the top has been mimicked around the world.
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In the cathlab at the hospital where I work I overheard one of my elder colleagues talking about his soon to be son-in-law, "At the very least, once you turn forty the bill of a ball cap should be turned to the front of your head."
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Make that "once you turn 11."
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Good reading, but one major point: it's not a ball cap, it's a baseball cap!
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I'm 68 and ball caps were just part of a sports uniform when I was a kid. Today I often comment that the hat wearer supports the team whose hat is being worn..and am told, my mother gave it to me so I wear it, I just choose it because I like the color. Thanks for giving me an understanding about something I have been curious about for years
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I own an iPhone 3. That makes me a dinosaur. I almost feel guilty of a social crime when I pull it out. But the ballcap has evolved to its Platonic ideal. It covers your head, it shields your eyes and your face from the sun and the rain, and it can take a beating, or at least a folding, and still come back as good as new, maybe better. It cannot be improved upon, which is why recent attempts to do so (like MLB's going to a 100% polyester cap, which is uncomfortable and, I hope, an evolutionary dead end) fail so utterly. Unlike the iPhone, there is no next ballcap.
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…the ball cap is also simply for people that love baseball, love their team, and like connecting with others sharing the same.
Yesterday while on a walk, a stranger: "Hey, like the KC hat! My husband's from KC and LOVES the Royals." Me: "Cool. Go Royals! That was a hell of an October wasn't it?!"
Yesterday while on a walk, a stranger: "Hey, like the KC hat! My husband's from KC and LOVES the Royals." Me: "Cool. Go Royals! That was a hell of an October wasn't it?!"
This is all well and good, but, for the life of me, can somebody tell me wear I can buy a Mets cap outside of Queens?! I'm dying here in northern CT!
Try buying one here...very exciting. I grew up in Brooklyn and Queens and spent too many Sundays at Shea Stadium in the bleachers, watching too many 2-0 and 1-0 games (guess who lost?) When the Mets came to Seattle last year, I was appropriately decked out in my Mets gear (including stuff I had owned for decades) with my Mariners jacket. I have three Mes hats (none newer than 2000) so I was able to wear a different hat for each of the games. Too bad they only seem to visit once every nine years...
When the Blue Jays (I HATE their new bird) come to town, we always got a large influx of BC and AB fans in town. And I always wear my Buffalo Bison cap (I went to UB). Gets lots of high-fives from those folks.
If you want Mets hats, recommend going to one of these sites:
http://www.lids.com/MLB/New-York-Mets/Hats
http://shop.mlb.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=1452831
or you can always try eBay...
When the Blue Jays (I HATE their new bird) come to town, we always got a large influx of BC and AB fans in town. And I always wear my Buffalo Bison cap (I went to UB). Gets lots of high-fives from those folks.
If you want Mets hats, recommend going to one of these sites:
http://www.lids.com/MLB/New-York-Mets/Hats
http://shop.mlb.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=1452831
or you can always try eBay...
The baseball cap worn backwards is the marching uniform of the slob army
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At Avery Fischer Hall in NYC, there is a group photograph of members of the NY Philharmonic on the deck of an ocean liner in 1912. Almost all were wearing tweed "newsboy's caps", not to be confused with "big apples". Perhaps that was the equivalent of the baseball cap, socially, at that time?
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An acquaintance maintains that a baseball cap worn backwards connotes the wearer toils at "minimum wage."
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I think it applies to forward wearing, too.
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