New Era 59FIFTY Hats: From Baseball Field to Streetwear Fashion

Baseball caps are one of the most popular summer hats in men’s wear. Apart from being a common streetwear accessory, you can also see them on sports professionals. It gives you style, comfort, and most importantly – protects you from the summer heat. That being said, not every brand will give you the quality you’re looking for. If you want to get a stylish and high-quality hat from a trusted world-renowned manufacturer, look for the New Era fitted hats.

History of New Era

New Era has proven themselves as one of the best brands for premium quality baseball hats. They’re a New York-based company founded by Ehrhardt Koch in 1920, from a borrowed $1.000. At first, they had only 14 employees, but they had big dreams of revolutionizing the headwear industry. Soon after they developed as a company, they started manufacturing headwear for MLB (Major League Baseball) and the NFL (National Football League). The first caps they produced for sports professionals were meant for the baseball team Cleveland Guardians. In 1993, they received an exclusive license for supplying headwear for all of the MLB teams.

The 59 Fifty Fitted Hat

This brand is known for several iconic cap models. The most popular are the 59 fifty caps. For such a peculiar name, many pose the question – what does 59 fifty stand for? This term comes from the original catalogue number of the hat, 5950. Although they were released in 1954, they weren’t available for the general public until the year 1978. The original model was made from wool, but over the years they experimented by adding synthetic fabrics to create a better-fitting cap. They eventually added several features to make it more fashionable and improved the sweatbands.

The iconic 59 fifty fitted hats are favoured by sports professionals over any other model, but they’re also common among fashion enthusiasts. They’re low-profile caps with a sharp style and a versatile brim that you can wear either curved or flat. They have a structured front panel that adds stability and creates a classic cap shape. The 59 fifty doesn’t have an adjustment strap at the back, but comes in different sizes. If you’re not sure which size is right for you, just follow the simple sizing guides. Fitted hats are guaranteed to stay in place, so you don’t have to worry about it falling off.

Depending on your personal preference, you can go with either a low or a high crown model. The high crown caps have a taller profile with a square look. Their visor is flat, but you can easily curve it depending on the aesthetic you’re going for. On the other hand, the low crown caps have a contoured crown and a more streamlined look. The visor on these caps is pre-curved.

The 59 fifty fitted hats are the most fashionable models from New Era’s line of headwear. Their comfort is guaranteed by countless baseball players who wear them in their matches. Some that are superstitious even wear the same cap for all of their matches, claiming that it brings them luck. If you’re a passionate baseball fan, choose one of the models with a logo of your favourite team, or go with a stylish “NY” logo if you’re looking for a classy piece of headwear.

Other New Era Models

Even though the 5950 was a major success for New Era, they didn’t stop caring about their customers and their unique needs. For this reason, they developed multiple different models that offer unique features:

• The 9 fifty – This cap uses the same flat brim and structured crown as the 59 fifty. The difference is that this model has an adjustable strap at the back and comes in 1 or 2 sizes. The 9 fifty is a good choice for those who don’t want to bother with cap sizes.
• The 39 thirty – The difference between this cap and the 59 fifty is that it comes with a stretchable sweatband. It’s available in two sizes that can stretch to fit any head size and have a pre-curved brim.
• The 9 forty – 9 forty is a mixture of the previous two models. It comes with an adjustable strap at the back and a pre-curved brim.
• The 9 twenty – This cap has both a pre-curved brim and an adjustable strap. What makes it unique is the soft unconstructed crown. This construction doesn’t keep its shape very well, but it’s convenient for packing or storing in your pocket. It’s also a bit of a homage to the old styles of baseball caps that players were wearing in the early and mid 20th century.
• The 29 twenty – Similar to the 9 twenty, only with a fitted back instead of an adjustable strap.
• The 19 twenty – Comes with an adjustable strap and a soft crown, but the brim is flat.

Hat Construction

Today’s New Era caps are more than an ordinary baseball cap. The mere fact that the caps available for purchase are the same ones worn by sports professionals is saying a lot about their quality. Their older caps were made of 100% wool material and such caps are still available if you’re into more vintage models. They added much to comfort and style, but they weren’t as durable as the more modern models. Today’s caps are made from high-quality 100% polyester material. They’re extremely durable, heat and steam resistant, and they’re designed to keep their original shape for many years. The sweatband has a foam layer on the inside, which makes the cap more comfortable, while the several layers of fabric keep your head protected. These baseball caps have handstitched logos that are made to last for long periods of time and give off a classy look.

How to Choose a New Era Fitted Hat?

Since fitted caps are on top of the headwear trends’ list in recent years, I will also touch upon how to choose the right one. For this, you need to make sure that you pick the right sizing and hat type. Take into consideration your features and personal style to pick the right model.

• Face shape – Faces can be oval, square, circle, heart or triangle. The ideal hat for you should have a crown that differs in shape from your face.
• Hairstyle – Some hairstyles, especially thick and curly hair, may benefit more from a stretchy and elastic cap than a more structured one.
• Colour – Keep in mind the colours that you usually wear to make sure they don’t clash with the cap’s colour. If you’re not sure which one to pick – stick to the neutral black, white or grey.