When England test captain, Ben Stokes, sported a bucket hat embroidered with the Three Lions crest during the first day of the men’s Ashes last week, it gained almost as much attention as the Test match itself. The hat, affectionately known as a titfer, was priced at £25. Stokes quickly earned the nickname “Bucket Hat Ben” on Twitter. A few days later, Pharrell Williams made a stark contrast by sporting a snug-fitting baseball cap from his debut collection for Louis Vuitton while taking a bow on the Pont Neuf over the Seine. This contrast represents the ongoing battle between these two hat styles to dominate the summer, from the grass of Edgbaston to the catwalks of Paris, and in towns and cities across the UK.Both bucket hats and baseball caps have gained immense popularity. Manchester City footballer Jack Grealish rocked a patterned bucket hat after winning the treble, and this year, the red carpet has seen more than one suit paired with a baseball cap, as seen on Bad Bunny at the Grammys. Sales of caps and summer hats at John Lewis have increased by 30% compared to last year.The fierce competition over hat styles reflects their role as “signifiers” and their ability to tell a story about the wearer, according to Ben Dalrymple, managing director of Lock & Co Hatters, the institution responsible for inventing the bowler hat. “Team allegiances, vintage looks, high fashion, casually cool, or even a uniform—hats convey a message about the wearer,” he explains. Wearers are fiercely protective of their hats and what they represent.”They are often intrinsically linked to a certain crowd,” says Ben Phillips, head of e-commerce at Drake’s. He notes that we all know someone who is synonymous with a specific hat style. Once individuals find a hat that suits them, they tend to stick with it, as it becomes a unique identifier and a calling card for those in the know.This hat rivalry is nothing new. However, determining who wears which hat style may not be as straightforward as it once was. Bucket hats originally served as practical headwear for mariners and fishermen, particularly in Ireland, during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally made from coarse sheep’s wool with lanolin for water resilience, they transitioned to canvas and gained popularity for their sun protection and easy packability.Bucket hats became fashionable in the 1960s when anything new and unusual was considered hip. They found favor among hip-hop artists such as Run-DMC and LL Cool J and later became synonymous with Britpop in the 90s when notable figures like the Gallagher brothers and Damon Albarn often wore them.On the other hand, baseball caps originated on the sports field, known as the Brooklyn cap in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their origin is credited to the local baseball team. Baseball caps have transcended sports and have become a fashionable choice for the front row of fashion shows or even the boardroom. In the television show Succession, the billionaire Roy family dons sloganless baseball caps as a subtle display of power and anonymity. In recent years, baseball caps have also become a canvas for slogans, allowing wearers to showcase their literary tastes. Novel Mart, a cult merch cap-maker, initially gained popularity with slogan baseball caps embellished with the word Negroni before branching out into bucket hats with the word Paloma becoming their latest bestseller.For those with a strong affinity to sartorial fashion, even they are opting for baseball caps. Phillips has noticed “dyed-in-the-wool sartorial customers” choosing to wear caps. When paired with tailored clothing, a cap delivers a casual elegance that juxtaposes high and low fashion and suggests the wearer is going somewhere better later. On the other hand, the bucket hat, as seen on Grealish, embodies a sense of celebration and represents a party that has already begun.The battle of the hats will be put to the test at Glastonbury, where the festival atmosphere will determine which style dominates this summer.
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