Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
In today's video, we'll discuss the flat cap, also known as newsboy cap.
I talk about the history, the style, how to wear it, and anything else you want to know
about this very classically stylish hat.
Even though hats for men are past its prime, with the recent popularity of shows like Boardwalk
Empire and peaky blinders, the flat cap has had somewhat of a renaissance.
Unlike a fedora hat and you can learn more about the fedora in this video, the flat cap
is a little more casual.
It's easier to wear; you can wear it during the winter, it will keep you warm and overall,
it makes a softer statement than a Homburg hat or Fedora.
If you've never worn a hat before, It's also much less intimidating to wear and to pull
off, and you can also combine it with more casual outfits, or more formal outfits, sport
coats, or anything else in the fall winter wardrobe spectrum.
So first of all, what is a flat cap or a newsboy cap?
Obviously, I'm wearing one here right now and it's made out of a woven fabric.
It's not knitted, there's no felt, like in typical menswear hats, overall, it has a very
level and trim silhouette based on the one-piece construction, meaning, the top is made out
of one piece of fabric and then you have seams on the side to get the distinct shape.
Another characteristic is that the body off the top part of the hat is pulled over the
brim.
Generally, it's either sewn on or snapped on, that way, you get a triangular side profile
that gives the hat its characteristic shape.
The other newsboy cap style that you might have seen before, consists of usually eight
panels with a cloth covered button in the middle.
Even though it's a different style, it's essentially the same cap because it has the same triangular
silhouette and it's just a little looser fitting.
Over the years, the flat cap has gotten many monikers so it's known as newsboy cap, cabbie,
gatsby, IV, Jeff, duffer, duckbill, driving, you name it.
If you want to learn all about the monikers, please check out the guide on our website
here.
Now it's time to talk about the history of the flat cap.
Basically, it has been around since the 14th century and its predecessor was the bonnet.
The term cap became into use in England before the 17th century.
Interestingly, in the 16th century, the British Parliament wanted to stimulate wool production
so they mandated that every non nobleman had to wear a flat cap on Sundays and on holidays,
otherwise, they would face a fine.
Even though that law didn't last very long, it had a profound impact on the way men dressed.
As such, it had become the uniform of the working man in England.
Eventually, even the aristocracy would adapt the flat cap but more for rural country sports
things like shooting or hunting.
The difference was that they used only higher-end materials and so there was still a level of
distinction.
Despite that fact the flat cap has always been more associated with the working class
rather than with the aristocracy, over time, the flat cap became more popular with its
peak in the popularity around 1910 to 1925.
The term newsboy cap evolved because little boys who sold newspapers were wearing this
cap and so that moniker was created.
The show peaky blinders is set right around that time and they even put little razor blades
on top so it became a hallmark of that show.
Because of that, many young men found an interest in the cap and you see more and more of them
on the street today than you did 10 or 15 years ago.
It's often also popular with older men who want a warm hat during the colder days of
the year without going all out and wearing a fedora, or a Homburg hat, however, because
it was a cap worn by younger men and news boys as well as older men and men in their
Middle Ages, It's truly something that you could wear at any point in time no matter
how old you are, what your style is.
So how should you wear a flat cap?
Overall, think of the flat cap as a more stylish equivalent to the baseball hat.
So how do you wear a flat cap?
First of all, if you get something made out of tweed just the way I'm wearing it here
right now, you always will make sure you have a certain amount of contrast between the fabric
on your hat and the rest of your outfit.
It's particularly true for the jacket and a shirt, that being said, if you have a tweed
suit or a jacket and a exactly matching flat cap made of the same material, it looks very,
very dapper.
Definitely avoid flat caps that are very similar in color but not the same because that just
looks off; it's like pairing a navy suit with a black pair of pants.
Second of all, do shape the brim to your taste; that
means you can actually move it like this and to curve it a little bit, you can tilt your
hat and get the exact look you want.
Don't wear your flat cap backwards because it just looks awkward.
This is not a baseball hat, after all, it is more stylish brother.
Four, don't worry a flat cap in the summer because it simply makes you overheat and sweat
and it's unnecessary.
It's a hat for the cold days of the year.
Five, don't wear a flat cap unsnapped.
Sometimes, you'll find flat caps that can be unflapped, however, that's a style that's
usually associated with women in the 70s and since you're a man, it's not a very advantageous
look.
For that reason, higher end caps sometimes don't even have the snap button and they're
sewn shut.
So how should you buy a flat cap?
First of all, it's important that it fits comfortably on your head because it's too
tight, chances are, you've got a headache, and if it's too loose, the wind may blow it
off.
In terms of sizing, lower end flat caps usually come in small, medium, and large, and there's
no real way for you to determine wether it's gonna fit you or not unless you try it out.
Traditionally, flat caps would be sold in the same sizes as hat sizes which means like
European 60, 61 and so forth or American or UK sizes which is 7 and 3/8 or 7 and a half
and to figure out what hatsize you are, please check out the table on our website here.
Because it's a soft hat and not a stiff hat, you can simply measure your head around your
forehead and transfer that measurement into the hat size that will work for you.
The flat cap was originally made from tweed by the wool fabrics or sometimes even cotton
and that reason you should stick with those materials.
In my opinion, tweed is really the best material because it has the depth of color, it keeps
you warm, it's hard wearing, and it's just a wonderful fabric.
To learn more about tweed, please check out our in-depth tweed guide, here.
Sometimes, I've also seen denim caps or maybe leather caps or faux leather ones.
I personally don't think it's a very advantageous look and I'd rather stick with the classic
stuff.
For that same reason, I stay away from patchwork flat hats or multi pattern caps because they're
simply too loud.
Just like a bold red or really loud blue and green hat.
The good thing about tweed is usually it comes in more subdued colors that suit the fall
winter season.
At the same time, the color composition of the fabric is comprised of a range of different
ones so it's very easy to combine it with other items in your wardrobe even though they
don't match and contrast.
So whenever you find flat caps that are either too bold or come in small, medium, and large,
I suggest you skip them unless you know that they will fit you and that you'll like to
wear them and they won't just be a fashion item that you have to throw away after a season.
if you want to learn more about flat caps and what brands you might want to buy please
check out our full guide on the website here.
Last but not least, if you think a flat cap makes you look dated just browse the Internet
and look for pictures of David Beckham or people like Brad Pitt which are obviously
mainstream media celebrities and they can still pull it off and do so on a regular basis.
in today's video I'm wearing a flat cap that it's made out of a bold herringbone tweed
I'm pairing it with a tweed jacket in green with an windowpane my tie is a madder silk
tie from Fort Belvedere in red my pocket square is also from Fort Belvedere likewise madder
silk in a bronze brown with green and red that picks up the tones of the tie and the
jacket the jacket is vintage which I found at Bobby from Boston which is a vintage store
a shirt is custom made from a nice cotton flannel it goes well with a soft fall winter
outfit my corduroys are from Polo Ralph Lauren my boots are from Saint Crispin's they're
a kind of chukka boot style and it's a deer suede that slightly contrasts my pants these
socks I'm wearing are brown with clocks from Fort Belvedere and of course over the calf
the cuff links I'm wearing are double-sided cloisonne enamel ones with blue in two-tone
they're vintage and I found them at a flea market with this green flat cap I should have
worn it with a green jacket and so I went with this oatmeal herringbone one I could
also wear it with this tweed jacket in grey with a very bold diagonal twill weave if you're
onto tweed you can go with wool flat caps such as this black one which work well with
Gray's maybe tans or khakis and you simply have to find something that works with your
style my fall winter style is tweed and because of that I have a lot of tweed flat caps but
even if we're tweed you shouldn't combine every flat cap with every jacket here or in
a Donegal jacket which is a tweed that it's characterized by its contrasting colorful
flecks of wool and the cap has a same style it would just clash instead I could go with
this kind of tweed cap which is like a mottled green but it doesn't have these color specs
and because of that it works well together the same goes with this hat which likewise
is a tweed coat with a nice color palette that picks up elements of my tie but it still
works with my jacket if you're wearing a bold herringbone Donegal tweed overcoat just like
I'm wearing here right now and you have a likewise bold herringbone pattern flat cap
it is in a different color they don't go well together instead of try to stay with solids
which are much better to wear and they just combine really nice flat caps also really
work well with solid overcoats simply because they have this pattern in the Tweed and if
you have a dark one maybe a simple herringbone one like this one works just fine otherwise
you couldn't be bolder as well just observe the general rules of pattern and color matching
and get something that is either very different in the size let's say you have a very fine
herringbone code every bold herringbone flat cap or the other way around otherwise try
to go with something else like a windowpane with a herringbone or a solid if you enjoyed
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