For the longest time since I forayed into clothing and style, I’ve purposely stayed away from wearing hats. The casual vibe distracted me from the outfit as a whole. However, my opinion on hats have much changed over the years as I got older, understanding that dressing better was not the same as dressing up.
I’m referring about baseball caps. You know, the hats Americans are known for sporting their favorite team logos at games, on vacations, and anywhere else really. I love an adjustable strap, well-worn cap with a slightly curved brim.
My first baseball cap purchase, ever, was several years ago online in 2014. It was this Ebbets Field Flannels navy wool ballcap from Independence Chicago. The hat was a nice, neutral navy color with a green satin underbrim and made of a soft wool flannel. A subtle, cream colored “I” for Independence Chicago felt stitched to the front of the brim, an adjustable leather strap at the back, and most gladly made here by Ebbets Field Flannels in Seattle, WA.
There have been several iterations of this makeup from Independence over the years. Some of them with a different font, a Horween shell cordovan strap, a different color button top, or even another material.
What I love about Ebbets Field Flannels is that the company pays homage to vintage teams and reproduce their attire. They have a variety of ready-made hats to choose from. Some of the popular hats include the SF Seals, the NY Knickerbockers, the LA Angels, and many more. Also, they have done several custom group made-to-orders with Reddit, Superfuture, Styleforum, and menswear retailers. The hats are reasonably priced at around 49 USD from the webstore or a few dollars more from places with their own makeup. From the several Ebbets caps I own, these caps are made with consistent and outstanding quality.
The leather strap included on the adjustable caps, however, does vary much in quality depending on the leather used. The more recent Ebbets caps I’ve purchased have a plastic looking finish and are thinner compared to the ones of Ebbets x Independence Chicago and Ebbets x Viberg (Horween Shell Cordovan strap). It’s quite a hit or miss, and you can identify the leather qualities of a specific cap run from its stock pictures. Regardless, a leather strap is a cool upgrade from the plastic or velcro straps on other cap brands.
