Whether or not you’re what we would call a “hat guy” (or girl), you can probably appreciate that not all baseball hats are created equal. In fact, far from it. Different styles of hats look better on different people. The choice you make can go a long way to communicating your personal style.
You may be wearing a baseball hat for practical reasons. Perhaps you want to express your style or allegiance to a favourite sports team. Regardless the reason, take the time to ensure you end up with the hat that suits you best.
Here are the eight best types of baseball hats for men and women:
Type #1: Snapback hats
This is the most popular styles of baseball hat and probably the one that first comes to mind. People tend to prefer this one because it looks good on just about everyone and has been adopted by so many different areas of fashion and style.
You’ll see the snapback everywhere from athleisure to streetwear. They can be preppy or hipster and are also ideal for sporting the logo of your hometown team.
Type #2: Fitted cap hats
These types of baseball hats tend to fit a bit closer than their snapback cousins and just about always sport some kind of logo. A fitted baseball cap can tend to a look a little odd if there is nothing on the front to offset how closely fitted it is.
For this reason, it is probably best to opt for a fitted cap only if you’ve found one which represents your love for a sports team, a city, or even just a really great brand.
Type #3: 5-panel hats
This style is newer to the game than some of the other more traditional baseball hats you see, and those who’ve adopted the 5-panel look tend to do so with fierce commitment. The hat started off as something you’d tend to associate with a Brooklyn hipster vibe, but these days you see them all over the place.
This is also the kind of baseball hat to go with if you’re looking to make a bold impression. Due to their construction, 5-panel hats tend to look good even when covered in a bold or colorful pattern. This is about the only time you can get away with such a loud design on a baseball hat, so feel free to get creative.
Type #4: Trucker hats
This is your go-to hat for maximum breathability. The main difference between trucker hats and your standard baseball hat is that in place of the usual cloth panels that complete the back of the hat, trucker hats have panels crafted with plastic mesh.
The iconic mesh panel on the back allows for a cooler fit and suggests a really laidback style. Also, because they are so much cooler and the mesh panel is less sweat-absorbent, the trucker hat can be perfect for hot weather or to wear when doing physical labor.
Type #5: Dad hats
The name of this baseball hat is an affectionate nod to the casual and not overly stylized look that tends to be associated with dads. These are soft-style hats and are often seen even without a logo.
Lots of dad hats come in a unique hue or texture and you’ll often see them with a distressed finish that creates a vintage look. These are also some of the most comfortable hats to wear thanks to the fact that the soft 6 panel design allows the hat to feel super light on the head.
Type #6: Flexible fit hats
This is more of an umbrella term, but generally can be applied to any design that can stretch to conform to different head sizes. Usually these hats have an elastic band running throughout and include a little pocket of extra material at the back so that the crown is able to stretch.
This style is also really comfortable but should be worn only at appropriate occasions, as it is definitely one of the most casual baseball hat styles.
Type #7: Flat brimmed hats
As baseball hats evolved from a practical point of view, most of the bills would be curved in order to further enhance the hat’s ability to keep the sun out of the wearer’s eyes.
These days though, style is often more important than practicality and that’s where we see the flat bill hat emerge. A flat brimmed hat is intended to look very stylized, with the pristine flat bill suggesting that the hat is new, high quality, and all about fashion.
Type #8: Sandwich bill hats
Speaking of bills and brims, the sandwich bill hat is a type of hat construction that uses a colorful layer of material in the brim to create a layered color scheme along the breadth of the hat. This type of baseball hat is good if you just want a touch of color. The top and bottom of the brim remain the same colour as the rest of the hat.