14 Types of Baseball Hats: How to Wear a Baseball Hat

Baseball caps are snug-fitting hats usually made out of soft, flexible materials like cotton, wool, acrylic, or polyester. Baseball caps are made out of a few panels of fabric stitched together to fit around the crown of the wearer’s head, with a brim that protrudes from the front of the hat to keep the run out of the wearer’s eyes.

The wide variety of baseball caps usually come in one of three profiles, referring to the height of the crown: high profile (with the highest crown), mid-profile, and low profile (with the lowest crown) . They come in a variety of different styles, with plenty of brim, color, and fit options to choose from. Baseball caps were first traditionally worn by baseball players as part of their uniform, offering sun protection as well as a shield for the eyes.

Baseball caps are a popular choice to keep your head and eyes out of the sun, whether you’re wearing it as part of a casual ensemble or an athletic uniform. Here are fourteen various styles of baseball caps you can find.

1. 1. Fitted cap: A fitted hat fits snugly to the wearer’s head, and does not come with an adjustable strap to alter the size.
2. 2. Snapback cap: Snapback hats have a plastic strap with adjustable plastic snaps on the back of the hat to alter the size of the hat to fit the wearer’s head.
3. 3. Strapback cap: Similar to the snapback, the strapback hat also offers adjustable sizing. However, rather than two plastic pieces, the cap uses fabric material instead, with the corresponding sides lined with velcro.
4. 4. Flexible fit cap: A flexible-fit cap has an elastic band at the back of the crown of the hat that allows it to stretch to fit the wearer’s head.
5. 5. Five-panel cap: The crown of a baseball cap is usually composed of several panels of fabric sewn together. A five-panel cap, sometimes referred to as a camp cap, is made up of five panels of fabric sewn together. Four of the panels are equally sized and form the back of the crown, while the fifth panel is larger and located at the front of the cap. This allows manufacturers to embroider the front of the hat with different designs without the interruption of a seam.
6. 6. Six-panel cap: A six-panel cap has a crown that features six triangular pieces of fabric sewn together and connected at the top of the crown. Most often, the panels of the hat are all the same color.
7. 7. Seven-panel cap: Seven-panel hats are a cross between the five and six-panel caps. The triangular pieces of fabric are arranged and joined similarly to a six-panel hat, with the front covered by the seventh panel, also similar to the five-panel. This front panel will allow manufacturers to embroider an uninterrupted design on the front of the hat.
8. 8. Structured cap: A structured cap is made out of a structured material called buckram to maintain its shape once it's removed from the wearer’s head.
9. 9. Unstructured cap: An unstructured cap uses a softer, limper fabric that doesn’t maintain its shape once it's removed from the wearer’s head.
10. 10. Flat brim cap: Flat-brimmed caps come with a flat bill (the front visor of the hat) rather than a curved one.
11. 11. Curved brim: With a curved brim cap, the edges of the bill of the hat curve downward to keep the sun out of the wearer’s peripheral vision.
12. 12. Sandwich-bill cap: A sandwich-bill cap has a thicker brim that features three sandwiched panels of fabric to make up the brim, usually with the middle panel contrasting the color of the outside panels.
13. 13. Trucker hat: Trucker caps are a style reminiscent of the kind of hat truck drivers wear on the road. These types of hats can come in different panel amounts, but will always have a plastic mesh backing or netting that fits loosely around the head.
14. 14. Dad hat: A dad cap is a low-profile hat that has a loose, unstructured fit and is relatively lightweight.

Baseball caps are a versatile piece of headgear that anyone can wear for style or function. Read on to learn a few helpful tips on how to wear a baseball cap.

1. 1. Find one with a good fit. Unless you’re going for an ultra-casual look, make sure that your baseball cap either fits snugly or can be adjusted to fit your head well. Your hat should fit so that you can either wear it with the brim facing forward or backward comfortably.
2. 2. Break it in. You can help break in your cap by rinsing it with hot water and wearing it. Keep it positioned slightly above the ears.
3. 3. Shape the bill. While your hat is wet or dry, bend or flatten the brim to the curvature of your liking.
4. 4. Center the brim. Wear the hat so that the brim is central on your forehead, with a small amount of space between the inside of the crown and your head. If you’re wearing a snapback or strapback and have long hair, you can fasten it in a ponytail and thread it through the gap.

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