A question from a noob (to hats) about the flat cap

[ton312]

I suppose this may seem silly to the hat folk here (I’m typically not a hat guy) but have found myself enamored with the driver/ newsboy cap of late. My question is this:
If the cap has a snap closed brim, is it bad form to wear it open/unsnapped so that the crown isn’t fixed to the brim? I like the hat both ways but not sure if the exposed snap when worn “open” is a foolish look. Appreciate in advance the collective wisdom! Thank you!

 

[belfastboy]

I have multiple newsboys, most from one custom maker that uses a button as the fastener. I rarely wear mine unbuttoned but have no issue with doing so. I do have one that I unbutton and wear backwards as the brim protects my neck from water running down it. Wear it as you like....not aware of any particular 'rules' about them....and even if so....start your own damn trend!

 

[Short Balding Guy]

I suppose this may seem silly to the hat folk here (I’m typically not a hat guy) but have found myself enamored with the driver/ newsboy cap of late. My question is this:
If the cap has a snap closed brim, is it bad form to wear it open/unsnapped so that the crown isn’t fixed to the brim? I like the hat both ways but not sure if the exposed snap when worn “open” is a foolish look. Appreciate in advance the collective wisdom! Thank you!

Cheers ton312. Wear a cap unsnapped? Certainly. I see the snap as a way to release the top material from the brim in order to put the cap on a wooden cap block. The block I use to re-shape my caps. Nothing to say it can not be worn un-snapped.

BTW: If the top crown of a drivers cap is unsnapped and pulled back it resembles a ball cap. Not my fav look, but it is a style I have seen in my neighborhood (MPLS/St.Paul, MN)

The snapped or sewn material to the brim was a way to keep the cap on the head in wind or in-climate weather. It was also a way to adjust the lay of the cap - its style or structure. Modern caps frequently have the top sewn to the brim (no-snap). This is certainly a cost or a less work intensive method. The brim size was to keep the face clear of weather and sun. Sewn crowns of caps have less adjustment to the lay of the cap (style) and make the cap difficult to re-block (shape). All of this said styles of caps are just that - styles.

BTW: Lots of cap wearing and pics on this thread; https://www.thefedoralounge.com/threads/what-cap-are-you-wearing-today.81136/page-116 .

Cheers, Eric -

 

[johnnycanuck]

I suppose this may seem silly to the hat folk here (I’m typically not a hat guy) but have found myself enamored with the driver/ newsboy cap of late. My question is this:
If the cap has a snap closed brim, is it bad form to wear it open/unsnapped so that the crown isn’t fixed to the brim? I like the hat both ways but not sure if the exposed snap when worn “open” is a foolish look. Appreciate in advance the collective wisdom! Thank you!

My family comes from the labour class from Scotland. Farmers, minors and mason workers. Everyone wore flat caps. When I asked my Grandfather on my mother’s side, who was the farmer, about the snap on his hat he said it was a weather thing. If it’s freezing out you can unsnap it and pull it down. My gran then yelled at him why she has never seen him do it. He said only wimps and dandy’s would do such a thing.... also if you look at pictures of baker boy caps it’s a flat cap without the snap.
really just wear it however you like.
Hope that helps
Johnny

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Mine have no snap or cap sewn to the brim, the cap just lays over the brim as I prefer....

 

[Edward]

I suppose this may seem silly to the hat folk here (I’m typically not a hat guy) but have found myself enamored with the driver/ newsboy cap of late. My question is this:
If the cap has a snap closed brim, is it bad form to wear it open/unsnapped so that the crown isn’t fixed to the brim? I like the hat both ways but not sure if the exposed snap when worn “open” is a foolish look. Appreciate in advance the collective wisdom! Thank you!

Not bad form at all. God enough for the Bobcat:

Changes the shape a bit, makes it look, as some others have noted, more like a 'Baker Boy' style. In some caps, it gives a sense of a bit more 'body' if you like more 'drape' in it.

My family comes from the labour class from Scotland. Farmers, minors and mason workers. Everyone wore flat caps. When I asked my Grandfather on my mother’s side, who was the farmer, about the snap on his hat he said it was a weather thing. If it’s freezing out you can unsnap it and pull it down. My gran then yelled at him why she has never seen him do it. He said only wimps and dandy’s would do such a thing.... also if you look at pictures of baker boy caps it’s a flat cap without the snap.
really just wear it however you like.
Hope that helps
Johnny

Bit like certain parts of Russia where actually using the earflaps on yer Ushanka is considered 'a bit girly'.

It definitely does give you more hat-body to play with and does mean it can be pulled-down further.

Mine have no snap or cap sewn to the brim, the cap just lays over the brim as I prefer....
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This is the more common approach nowadays - I think this was always true. Some caps are designed to give the option, others don't. I think because most people wear them snapped up it's not a commonly looked for feature. It's a nice option to have - something I would tend to order if speccing out a custom order version - but one I don't actually make use of with any great regularity. Kinda like having the option on some of my hats, though.

I think what I like a bout a stud - and, of course as your shows, a stitch in the right place can do the same job, is the way it allows for the body to drape, letting the peak stick out from below. I'm less keen on the eight panel styles that have the peak fully tucked under the body.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

??..My brim has no stitch or snap. The cap material just lays down over the brim. Simple and lays down nicely.

 

[ton312]

Appreciate the responses guys! Thank you!

 

[ton312]

Mine have no snap or cap sewn to the brim, the cap just lays over the brim as I prefer....
View attachment 339009 View attachment 339010 View attachment 339011

That’s a nice looking cap HD. Who made it? I just picked up a Brixton. It’s nothing fancy but it fits well. I could see spending a bit more on something with a higher build quality. Buying hats online is harder than jackets. I noticed that 59cm is not always the same.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

https://www.hatpeople.com/cuts/tourcut.html

Medium cut for me.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I have a nicely stitched and made leather satin lined newsboy for sale. Size 23 1/8 but elastic back will stretch a little larger. $85 + shipping.....

 

[HoosierDaddy]

 

[johnnycanuck]

If you really think about it a flat cap is just a structured version of a Tam O’Shanter (Scottish version of a beret) it was usually worn in Scotland with the front pulled forward to protect the face from sun and rain. In Scotland particularly rain. So instead of knitted wool they made them with pre made tweeds and sewn together. So really any way you can wear a beret you can wear a flat cap.
Just a thought,
Johnny

 

[Edward]

??..My brim has no stitch or snap. The cap material just lays down over the brim. Simple and lays down nicely.

Ah! Looks good, either way. I've seen a cap done that way called a 'Bond Cap' but I have no idea whether that was a proprietary term or no.

Does it just drape over the front, or are the panels cut slightly shorter than on the back to give it that 'forward lean'?

I have a nicely stitched and made leather satin lined newsboy for sale. Size 23 1/8 but elastic back will stretch a little larger. $85 + shipping.....

Nice. I've got a Stetson one that's a bit similar, though more of a matte finish - hogskin, I think. I like the pebbling on yours.

If you really think about it a flat cap is just a structured version of a Tam O’Shanter (Scottish version of a beret) it was usually worn in Scotland with the front pulled forward to protect the face from sun and rain. In Scotland particularly rain. So instead of knitted wool they made them with pre made tweeds and sewn together. So really any way you can wear a beret you can wear a flat cap.
Just a thought,
Johnny

The only real difference with the Tam (itself very similar to an Irish Caubeen) is the vertical band at the bottom - the bit with the dicing on it here:

Jacobite bonnets are pretty much the same too, though the pattern varies - there was no, one pattern for a bonnet, many of them were close to indistinguishable from a Basque beret. Unsurprising, really, given Scotland's long and historic links with France.

there's something nice about the way a beret can be slung on any old way, though equally I like how the peak on a cap provides a nice 'handle' to throw it on and off, aside from any other plusses to the peak design (like keeping the sun out).

 

[Edward]

@HoosierDaddy - had a look at that website, I get what you mean about the cap cut now. I've heard of this before (I think it was a Mr Freedom cap I saw on ebay done that way), but couldn't quite figure how it would sit forward like that - obviously works seeing yours. Have filed that site for future reference!

 

[HoosierDaddy]

Yes, I think that site displays a unique cap in several different models that is something to consider. I tried a couple and liked the simplicity and construction. I have a long face and feel I look better in a medium size cap. Other face types look better in a blousier or full style cap. That page gives the customer a decent idea of how of the different styles look being worn.