What Cap Are You Wearing Today?

[Short Balding Guy]

Here are some caps I have worn the past days.

Cheers, Eric -

 

[Short Balding Guy]

My Inisfree cap, Quiet Man cap, was my choice for today's escapades.

Cheers, Eric -

 

[Edward]

My Inisfree cap, Quiet Man cap, was my choice for today's escapades.

Cheers, Eric -

Caps like this were very common among working men in Ireland for a long time. You can see plenty of examples worn by shipyard workers in Belfast in the late 40s and in 1954 in these clips:

Across the tail end of the 50s and into the 60s, the size / volume of the average cap got smaller, the overall shape became more svelte, something akin to @StoryPNW 's Irish cap above. That was a common style among men of my paternal grandfather's age; he'd have been in his early-mid sixties when I knew him (died in June 1980 in his late sixties). His heyday was in the 30s, and all the photos I've seen of him back then were hatless. by the time I knew him in the 70s, of course, he was bald and always wore one of those slimmer flatcaps out of doors. Still see them worn around by men of a certain age in Belfast, though I suspect within the next twenty years or so they'll be replaced by knit beanies in Winter and baseball caps in Summer as another generation reaches that age.

 

[dkstott]

Love these videos and glimpses of the past.

My father wore the typical flat cap or baseball cap when he wasn't in his police uniform and hat. Never really knew my paternal grandfather or his cap preference.

My paternal grandfather practically lived in newsboy caps. I have photos of him dating back 100 years ago. When it wasn't on his head, it was stuffed in a coat or back pants pocket.

As best I can tell, they weren't the wider versions. It seems that his caps were very similar to what my preferences are. Sort of mid width.

Almost every photo of my maternal grandfather & great grandfather is of them has them wearing a soft version of a train conductor cap. Which is interesting since neither one worked for the railroad.

 

[dkstott]

My sterkowski Malone in blue with leather trim just arrived.

Harris Tweed Newsboy with quilted lining.

The weather is too warm for a quilted lining right now .

I'm looking forward to it getting a lot of head time this winter.

 

[quikrick]

My sterkowski Malone in blue with leather trim just arrived.

Harris Tweed Newsboy with quilted lining.

The weather is too warm for a quilted lining right now .

I'm looking forward to it getting a lot of head time this winter. View attachment 459763 View attachment 459764 View attachment 459765

That's a nice one Dave. Very stylish.

 

[Edward]

Love these videos and glimpses of the past.

My father wore the typical flat cap or baseball cap when he wasn't in his police uniform and hat. Never really knew my paternal grandfather or his cap preference.

My paternal grandfather practically lived in newsboy caps. I have photos of him dating back 100 years ago. When it wasn't on his head, it was stuffed in a coat or back pants pocket.

As best I can tell, they weren't the wider versions. It seems that his caps were very similar to what my preferences are. Sort of mid width.

Almost every photo of my maternal grandfather & great grandfather is of them has them wearing a soft version of a train conductor cap. Which is interesting since neither one worked for the railroad.

It seems, based on photos I've seen, the average size of caps has varied a lot over time. (It's the same in the Basque region with berets as far as I can make out.) I suspect it varied somewhat with geography as well in the days before fashion and media became as internationalised as they often are now, though it would be interesting to see whether there was any connection with other elements of wardrobe. Did more svelte caps coincide with narrower brims? Or lapels? Or trouser width?

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Caps like this were very common among working men in Ireland for a long time. You can see plenty of examples worn by shipyard workers in Belfast in the late 40s and in 1954 in these clips:

Across the tail end of the 50s and into the 60s, the size / volume of the average cap got smaller, the overall shape became more svelte, something akin to @StoryPNW 's Irish cap above. That was a common style among men of my paternal grandfather's age; he'd have been in his early-mid sixties when I knew him (died in June 1980 in his late sixties). His heyday was in the 30s, and all the photos I've seen of him back then were hatless. by the time I knew him in the 70s, of course, he was bald and always wore one of those slimmer flatcaps out of doors. Still see them worn around by men of a certain age in Belfast, though I suspect within the next twenty years or so they'll be replaced by knit beanies in Winter and baseball caps in Summer as another generation reaches that age.

The French cap style was truly a common men's garment as shown in your pics. Did the men of the day refer to it as a French Style? If so no worries about country of origin of styles.

I was introduced to the style by Johnathan Cordova and Keith Lo Blue as "French Cap" style.

My sterkowski Malone in blue with leather trim just arrived.

Harris Tweed Newsboy with quilted lining.

The weather is too warm for a quilted lining right now .

I'm looking forward to it getting a lot of head time this winter. View attachment 459763 View attachment 459764 View attachment 459765

New Cap Day! Cheers! Pretty blue Harris Tweed cap. Cngrats on the new cap sir. Cold weather is coming and you are ready.

It seems, based on photos I've seen, the average size of caps has varied a lot over time. (It's the same in the Basque region with berets as far as I can make out.) I suspect it varied somewhat with geography as well in the days before fashion and media became as internationalised as they often are now, though it would be interesting to see whether there was any connection with other elements of wardrobe. Did more svelte caps coincide with narrower brims? Or lapels? Or trouser width?

Edward; You ask excellent questions. I will ask the smarter folks I know as I have no idea.

While I look for answers here is a pic of me and my Grandfather.

According to my Grandmother he had 2 hats. A good Sunday hat and an everyday hat. The only cap he wore was for woodcutting and his outdoor hat. Both of those were brimed caps. I understand they were like the pictured Filson hat. Insulated and non-insulated made of wool. His insulated had pull down ear flaps.

Cheers, Eric -

 

[Edward]

The French cap style was truly a common men's garment as shown in your pics. Did the men of the day refer to it as a French Style? If so no worries about country of origin of styles.

I was introduced to the style by Johnathan Cordova and Keith Lo Blue as "French Cap" style.

Interesting question.... I've not heard that appellation before. In (Northern) Ireland where I grew up, they were just referred to as 'caps' by an older generation, and 'flat caps' by people who were of a generation that distinguished them from baseball caps. Which were always baseball caps, even though baseball doesn't really happen this side of the Atlantic. Eight-panel caps were always "newsboy caps", though less common this side of the pond much before the sixties, I think.

It would definitely be interesting to know whether there was a specific geographic origin for the name 'French Cap'. Certainly trade links with France go way back; even during the long period of France and England being traditional enemies there were still many years of Scotland and Ireland being more friendly with the French. I've certainly speculated elsewhere that the trade links of the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland had some connection to the similarity between the French beret and the Jacobite bonnet.

Edward; You ask excellent questions. I will ask the smarter folks I know as I have no idea.

While I look for answers here is a pic of me and my Grandfather.

According to my Grandmother he had 2 hats. A good Sunday hat and an everyday hat. The only cap he wore was for woodcutting and his outdoor hat. Both of those were brimed caps. I understand they were like the pictured Filson hat. Insulated and non-insulated made of wool. His insulated had pull down ear flaps.

Cheers, Eric -

Great photo! You Grandfather certainly sounds very typical of men of his era in that regard. In part it reflects, I suppose, the fact that back then hats were much more utilitarian items of clothing - I suspect those of us who amass significant collections nowadays would be seen as rather odd in that regard.

A hat with earflaps can be a big plus. Back in 2004 when I made my one and only (so far.... but for time and finances I'd be there an awful lot more) trip to NYC, I went in mid-February when it was seriously cold. I wore a West German surplus winter 'cap comforter' (I dyed it black, which took on the cotton shell, leaving the man-made wool inner the standard green. Two tone worked quite well....). The flexibility of having ear flaps in it was great. Still have it somewhere, though about a decade ago I picked up an ELC B2 cap which is wonderful in the harsh cold. I've recently found a business on Etsy that do a version of the B2 cap in black, so might well succumb to that this Winter....

Given my ideals, I do love a good fedora, but on a Windy day or with certain casual stuff, you can't knock a great cap...

 

[Edward]

Here are some caps I have worn the past days.

Cheers, Eric -

Cordova make a great looking cap. I have a couple of eight-darters from them; one denim, one linen. This one, though, is a total doozy: I love the peak extending just that little bit, and the way the wabash stripe is matched up all around.... great stuff.

 

[dkstott]

Interesting question.... I've not heard that appellation before. In (Northern) Ireland where I grew up, they were just referred to as 'caps' by an older generation, and 'flat caps' by people who were of a generation that distinguished them from baseball caps. Which were always baseball caps, even though baseball doesn't really happen this side of the Atlantic. Eight-panel caps were always "newsboy caps", though less common this side of the pond much before the sixties, I think.

It would definitely be interesting to know whether there was a specific geographic origin for the name 'French Cap'. Certainly trade links with France go way back; even during the long period of France and England being traditional enemies there were still many years of Scotland and Ireland being more friendly with the French. I've certainly speculated elsewhere that the trade links of the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland had some connection to the similarity between the French beret and the Jacobite bonnet.





Great photo! You Grandfather certainly sounds very typical of men of his era in that regard. In part it reflects, I suppose, the fact that back then hats were much more utilitarian items of clothing - I suspect those of us who amass significant collections nowadays would be seen as rather odd in that regard.

A hat with earflaps can be a big plus. Back in 2004 when I made my one and only (so far.... but for time and finances I'd be there an awful lot more) trip to NYC, I went in mid-February when it was seriously cold. I wore a West German surplus winter 'cap comforter' (I dyed it black, which took on the cotton shell, leaving the man-made wool inner the standard green. Two tone worked quite well....). The flexibility of having ear flaps in it was grede at. Still have it somewhere, though about a decade ago I picked up an ELC B2 cap which is wonderful in the harsh cold. I've recently found a business on Etsy that do a version of the B2 cap in black, so might well succumb to that this Winter....

Given my ideals, I do love a good fedora, but on a Windy day or with certain casual stuff, you can't knock a great cap...

Interesting, from my area on this side of the pond.

French cap= Beret

 

[dkstott]

Caps like this were very common among working men in Ireland for a long time. You can see plenty of examples worn by shipyard workers in Belfast in the late 40s and in 1954 in these clips:

Across the tail end of the 50s and into the 60s, the size / volume of the average cap got smaller, the overall shape became more svelte, something akin to @StoryPNW 's Irish cap above. That was a common style among men of my paternal grandfather's age; he'd have been in his early-mid sixties when I knew him (died in June 1980 in his late sixties). His heyday was in the 30s, and all the photos I've seen of him back then were hatless. by the time I knew him in the 70s, of course, he was bald and always wore one of those slimmer flatcaps out of doors. Still see them worn around by men of a certain age in Belfast, though I suspect within the next twenty years or so they'll be replaced by knit beanies in Winter and baseball caps in Summer as another generation reaches that age.

I'm interested in what @Blackthorn might have to add to this. He's posted a lot of vintage caps in the past.

 

[dkstott]

Interesting question.... I've not heard that appellation before. In (Northern) Ireland where I grew up, they were just referred to as 'caps' by an older generation, and 'flat caps' by people who were of a generation that distinguished them from baseball caps. Which were always baseball caps, even though baseball doesn't really happen this side of the Atlantic. Eight-panel caps were always "newsboy caps", though less common this side of the pond much before the sixties, I think.

It would definitely be interesting to know whether there was a specific geographic origin for the name 'French Cap'. Certainly trade links with France go way back; even during the long period of France and England being traditional enemies there were still many years of Scotland and Ireland being more friendly with the French. I've certainly speculated elsewhere that the trade links of the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland had some connection to the similarity between the French beret and the Jacobite bonnet.





Great photo! You Grandfather certainly sounds very typical of men of his era in that regard. In part it reflects, I suppose, the fact that back then hats were much more utilitarian items of clothing - I suspect those of us who amass significant collections nowadays would be seen as rather odd in that regard.

A hat with earflaps can be a big plus. Back in 2004 when I made my one and only (so far.... but for time and finances I'd be there an awful lot more) trip to NYC, I went in mid-February when it was seriously cold. I wore a West German surplus winter 'cap comforter' (I dyed it black, which took on the cotton shell, leaving the man-made wool inner the standard green. Two tone worked quite well....). The flexibility of having ear flaps in it was great. Still have it somewhere, though about a decade ago I picked up an ELC B2 cap which is wonderful in the harsh cold. I've recently found a business on Etsy that do a version of the B2 cap in black, so might well succumb to that this Winter....

Given my ideals, I do love a good fedora, but on a Windy day or with certain casual stuff, you can't knock a great cap...

This is an interesting video on the history of the flat cap.

He seems to believe that its origin comes from the Tam O Sham.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

Yesterday's cap.

Cheers, Eric -

 

[TheOldFashioned]

This 19th century overshot fabric pattern might play some tricks on the eyes, but this Five Points cap from The Well Dressed Head is an absolute treat:

 

[dkstott]

I've been commenting to my wife that I wanted a dark grey cap that wasn't Herringbone

My wife just surprised me with this cap for my 67th birthday.

Dark grey Gamble and Gunn Donegal Tweed. British made & sewn.

The body has a bit more "drape" to it than I'm accustomed to. Its growing on me. I really like the longer brim & the added material in the back of the cap.

 

[Ingramite]

Real hippies have gray hair.
My Bob Marley beret.

 

[Blackthorn]

I'm interested in what @Blackthorn might have to add to this. He's posted a lot of vintage caps in the past.

I have seen flat caps going back to the nineteen-teens. If you go back through my posts, you'll see Jack London wearing several different types including newsboy caps, and he died in 1916 so we know they were older than that.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

This 19th century overshot fabric pattern might play some tricks on the eyes, but this Five Points cap from The Well Dressed Head is an absolute treat:
View attachment 461425

Your cap is always a pleasure to see. WDH caps are truly special. Thanks for sharing.

I've been commenting to my wife that I wanted a dark grey cap that wasn't Herringbone

My wife just surprised me with this cap for my 67th birthday.

Dark grey Gamble and Gunn Donegal Tweed. British made & sewn.

The body has a bit more "drape" to it than I'm accustomed to. Its growing on me. I really like the longer brim & the added material in the back of the cap.

View attachment 461741 View attachment 461742 View attachment 461743

To my eye I like the drape and shape of your new birthday cap. Cheers on your birthday sir.

View attachment 461777
Real hippies have gray hair.
My Bob Marley beret.

I am loving your Marley beret. I can see you wearing it in my mind. Cool, or should I say groovy. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Short Balding Guy]

It has been a Blue cap day. All day long.

Cheers to all on a blue cap day, Eric -