Hats Plus Ltd.

While Kangol’s caps are among our best selling brands, fans of classic felt fedoras might be quick to blow off Kangol as just trendy fad caps and hats. However, the evidence exists that they are the real deal and here to stay on top of the fashion world. What other brand can boast generals, The Beatles, a princess and rappers among their biggest fans?

Take the Kangol beret for a moment. It has been among the company’s best sellers for 94 years!

It all started at the end of World War I in 1918. That’s when a British soldier named Jacques Spreiregen came home looking for a new occupation. French berets were very popular; so he started an import business.

As it grew and succeeded, he started having the berets made in England and named the company Kangol in 1938. No one knows for certain how the company name came about but leading speculation on the company’s website is that the “K” stood for knit, “ang” came from the angora used in the caps and the “ol” from the wool. The kangaroo now associated with the logo wouldn’t be developed for another 50 years.

Among the company’s most distinguished early customers was British WWII General Bernard “Monte” Montgomery. Many soldiers in the British army wore them as part of their uniforms, but Monte was almost never seen without his Kangol.

After this war, the Kangol beret became the official headwear for the U.K.’s 1948 Olympic team.

The 1950s saw a great deal of design innovation at Kangol. It was in that decade that they first created the 504 and 507 caps. Their first successful summer cap of that era…the “Tropic.” These are our most popular caps to this day. Sure, they come in more colors and variations than they used to, but the overall design remains a top seller.

Always on the cutting edge of music and culture, Kangol became the only company licensed to design, market and brand headwear for none other than The Beatles. They were one band who didn’t need any HELP with their fashion sense.

In addition to musicians, professional golfers took to wearing Kangol caps by the late 1970s. The company also began a serious expansion into American markets.

Having trouble remembering the company name, Americans kept calling the caps kangaroo hats. When the company decided it finally needed a more permanent, easy-to-recognize logo, it turned to the mistaken pronounciation of its name and crafted the now eponymous kangaroo logo.

Rap culture in the 1980s instantly took to the brand. Rappers such as Grand Master Flash and LL Cool J famously wore the hats. To this day folks come into Hats Plus asking for LL Cool J hats, meaning a Kangol bucket hat.

Yet, rappers weren’t the only ones taken by the company’s headwear in the 1980s. Britain’s Princess Diana posed on the cover of Vogue magazine with a Kangol in 1983!

Today, anybody who is anybody wears Kangol caps and hats. Musicians, models and movie stars all enjoy the always fresh fashion sense of the company’s designers. And those designers now include a movie star with his very own line of Kangol caps. Who? Samuel L. Jackson.

The storied history of the Stetson Company begins in 1865 with the westward expansion of the American frontier. Now synonymous with the American West, the archetypal "cowboy hat" was born from the necessity of the western landscape: vast, sun-scorched valleys and plains and rugged, forbidding mountain peaks made the wide-brimmed, high crown "Boss of the Plains"-style hat indispensable to the discerning cowboy. The durability and practicality of shielding yourself from the elements with a Stetson continues to this day, even as the iconography of the brand has shifted to suit modern tastes.  For 150 years and counting, the Stetson brand continues to diversify its portfolio with flashier straw hats that keep you protected from the son, to iconic fur felt fedoras like the Stetson Temple, worn by the likes of Harrison Ford in "Indiana Jones." Taking a page out of the durability playbook, the Stetson Andover is made from sturdy milan straw, which offers ample protection from the sun, wrapped with a fine, look-your-best dress band and flashy two-tone color design that's perfect for the hotter months. Donning a Stetson continues an American tradition of rugged individualism and the freedom of wide open spaces.

With its two-tone design and dynamic hat band the Stetson Andover makes for a great choice for a summer hat with a little swagger.

Unless you have unlimited resources, odds are good you will buy just one or two hats or caps for your summer wardrobe this year. And that’s where the trouble begins. With more than 600 different models to choose from at Hats Plus, this isn’t necessarily your easiest task.

Your best bet is to assess what you need. Whatever you choose should clearly be “you” but if you are spending 8 hours a day outdoors in the sun, your first choice for a hat probably shouldn’t be that open-weave party hat with a stingy brim.

Ask yourself these questions: Where am I going to wear this the most? (The office? In the car? Out socializing?) How much solar protection do I need? Is it always windy? If so, do I want the wind blowing through my hair or do I want to make certain my hat won’t go flying? As you start narrowing down your choices, keep your wardrobe in mind. A shantung or natural straw hat will go with anything, but that really cool looking peach color fedora you like might only work with one or two of your outfits.

Assuming you have already read our post about the different types of straw used to make straw hats, let’s dive into some good ideas for helping you to pick out the right hat for you this summer.

ALL PURPOSE

No one will ever go wrong with a straw fedora or even a linen newsboy cap. Both will keep the sun off the top of your head and provide a little shade for your eyes. Plus, they are appropriate to wear for most occasions. A fedora with a 2-inch or 2 1/2-inch brim will give a little better job providing shade.

However, a straw hat or linen newsboy will work well with a suit or a T-shirt and shorts. Each adds a little class to your wardrobe without making you look pompus or stuffy. Many fedoras can look downright playful, especially if you snap the front brim in the up position.

SUN WARRIORS

If you are outside all day gardening, doing lawn care, working as a lifeguard or any other outdoorsy job, you are going to want to protect yourself from the sun’s harsh rays. If you are especially fair skinned, you can get a sun burn in just 20 minutes between noon and 2 p.m.

You will most certainly want the most protection you can get and will likely want to get a hat with a 3-inch brim at the least. You will also want to make certain the crown either tightly woven or layered like a milan hat. This helps keep the sun from baking the top of your dome. The Stetson Rustic is a nice option. The downturned brim Capas Panama is another good choice. It only has a 2 1/2-inch brim, but the downturn brim helps to shade more of you.

Some straw hats come with special cloth liners in the crown or under the brim of the hat to make certain to block 99% of UV rays. The Stefeno New Mexico features these special linings.

If you need a little more pizzazz with a wide brim, try a gambler such as the Ozark Panama Gambler or Ozark Milan Gambler. Some golfers really enjoy the style and shade while the hat doesn’t get in the way of their play.

BATTLE the ELEMENTS

There is nothing like a day out on your sailboat or a weekend camping with your family, but we all know nature can be one bad mother. There is only one brand who can take all that she can dish out: Tilley.

These Canadian-made hats are made of a light-weight cotton that will deliver unparalleled solar protection. It will also help keep your head dry in the rain. Even if the hat (and you) get completely soaked, these hats are washable and guaranteed not to shrink. Many of the Tilley hats can float, which makes them easier to retrieve on the lake. PLUS, many Tilley hats have straps to go under your chin and the back of your head, thus denying the wind the opportunity to steal your hat.

PARTY TIME

If you just want to look your best while out socializing, you have a ton of options. Stingy brim straw hats are all the rage. Be sure to check out our popular straw hats by Bailey. You also might like the Bailey Mannes Crushable Fedora.

If you want a traditional fedora with real color and pop, try the Dobbs Rosebud or Stetson Andovers.

We probably should have mentioned these first, but Kangol carries a wonderful line of ivy caps like the Tropic Ventair, and ball caps, players, and army caps. They come in many colors and are instantly recognized as a fashion leader all over the world.

POMP & CIRCUMSTANCE

Finally, there are those who have a zillion special events to attend this summer: weddings, graduations, company picnics and more.

With so many events for which you must dress well, you might want to consider getting a more formal hat. A highly refined Montecristi panama hat by Biltmore will make you look like a million bucks. Maybe you would rather go Great Gatsby with a straw skimmer. Or you could really take it up a notch and get a straw Homburg, also known as a Godfather. From its upturned, bounded-edge brim to the crease of the crown, a hamburg like the straw Dobbs Eldorado is a hat that always is sophisticated and debonaire.

Biltmore Hayden You'll Look Stunning Night & Day One look at this handsome fedora, and it will definitely get under your skin. Crooning with the sophistication of the late ’50s and early ’60s, the Hayden is a stingy brim classic. The wide grosgrain bow band and center dent crown are quite dapper, and the optional feather keeps you looking carefree. Satin lined and sporting a nice leather sweatband, this hat is nice and easy to wear. It also comes in seven different colors to work with almost any wardrobe.

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