HEAD COVERINGS 101/ Baseball caps comfortable, lightweight, easy to

0 Comments | Gazette, The (Colorado Springs), Apr 8, 2003 | by RACHEL SAUER

Baseball Caps: An Unscientific Anthropological Study

Abstract:

Once seen only on baseball players and boys nicknamed Beaver, baseball caps have ballooned in popularity.

For a variety of reasons - such as making a fashion statement or keeping ultraviolet rays off vulnerable noses - the number of American heads on which baseball caps now perch has grown tremendously in the past 20 years.

Whether worn for form or function, baseball caps are so prevalent that they've become almost invisible, an accepted part of the American outfit.

Introduction:

It's springtime. Baseball season is starting. Sunshine and blue skies are luring people outside. Baseball caps that kept heads warm in winter now shield eyes from the sun. They're everywhere.

"They fit in every place," said Ellen Goldstein, chair of the accessories department at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.

"I think the reason they're so popular is they're easy to wear - it doesn't make any difference how much hair or how little hair (you have); they go with everything, they're lightweight and easy to pack; they come in a variety of colors and materials; they transcend age."

Brief history:

The first baseball caps were straw hats worn by the New York Knickerbockers baseball team in the 1850s.

These proved impractical, so players and team officials adopted a pillbox-style hat with a short brim worn by soldiers in the Civil War. The National League adopted this look in 1876.

Clothing manufacturers recognized a possible trend, so by the turn of the century little boys could have hats just like their baseball idols.

By experimenting with fabrics, manufacturers produced hats with longer, stiffer bills and a crown that kept its shape.

By the 1960s, marketers tapped into baseball caps as an advertising forum, and their popularity grew.

In the last 20 years, for reasons that range from American's increasing obsession with sports to a relaxing of social customs, the popularity of baseball caps has exploded, Goldstein said.

Not only that, they're tailor-made for the masses. Whereas not everyone can get away with a fedora or a turban, pretty much anyone can wear a baseball cap, Goldstein said.

Though there is no specific data on baseball cap sales, one need only look around to see how ubiquitous baseball caps are.

Study results:

We can conclude that there are various types of baseball caps and just as many reasons for wearing them.

TYPE 1 - The Freebie:

foam and mesh with a plastic adjustable sizing band; generally advertises something.

Frequently seen at: truck stops, farmers co- ops, American Legion functions, Calhan. Worn: perched on head with several inches of breathing room between scalp and inside top of hat; or, at a jaunty tilt. Example: older gentleman recently spotted fishing at Prospect Lake, who didn't want to share his name. He said he wears a cap whenever he's outside, because he doesn't want his head or face to get sunburned.

TYPE 2 - The Old School:

unbent bill, scrupulously clean, often promoting a long-gone team like the Baltimore Bullets. Frequently seen at: 50 Cent shows, malls, car washes, high school parking lots. Worn: at any of 360 degrees around the head, sometimes over a bandanna, with an easy-going attitude. Example: Josh Cruz, 17, a senior at Falcon High School. On a recent Monday he was wearing a navy-and-white New York Yankees baseball cap that matched his shirt. He's not particularly a fan of the Yankees, but he chooses his hats because he likes the way they look. He wore the Yankees cap, bill unbent, frontward and slightly left of center. He owns 10 or 15 caps, he estimated, and wears one only when it matches his outfit.

TYPE 3 - The Hell Yeah:

fitted, 100 percent cotton, faded and grubby, bill bent into a U shape. Frequently seen at: Dave Matthews Band concerts, fraternity initiation, MTV Spring Break, pick-up hockey or football games, the gym. Worn: frontward or backward, often by people prone to enthusiastically yelling, "Hell yeah! " Example: Devin Gilligan, 20, assistant manager of Lids Ultimate Headgear in The Citadel mall. When he started working at the store about four years ago, Gilligan had maybe 10 hats. Now he has more than 60. He prefers the fitted cotton variety with a seriously curved bill. "I used to just wear them for baseball season," he explained.

"Now it's pretty much every day. And I'm a hockey player, too, and I grow out my hair during the season so it goes nuts sometimes and you can cover it up with a hat. They're good for bad hair days."

TYPE 4 - The Weekend Warrior:

cotton with a buckle-adjusted sizing band, often commemorating a favorite vacation spot. Frequently seen at: Home Depot on Saturday mornings, youth soccer games on Saturday afternoons, Super Bowl parties. Worn: to cover unruly hair, or with a sporty ponytail pulled through the back.

Example: Kayte Dube, 20, of Colorado Springs, spotted recently at The Citadel mall wearing a gray cap embroidered with the U.S. Coast Guard logo.

"It was a bad hair day," she said. Normally, if her shoulder- length, straight brown hair is uncooperative, she wears a bandanna. On that day, though, the cap was handy. It's the only one she owns, given to her by her two brothers in the Coast Guard.