May/June 2008

While fashion styles seem to change every year – and often much more quickly than that – headwear is the uniform industry’s steady rock. Headwear trends do change, but not with nearly the speed that overall apparel styles do.

While fashion styles seem to change every year – and often much more quickly than that – headwear is the uniform industry’s steady rock. Headwear trends do change, but not with nearly the speed that overall apparel styles do.
Right now, for example, law enforcement headwear has been drifting toward a more casual or “low profile” style, for comfort and a more approachable look. The restaurant industry has also seen a shift to more low-profile headwear, namely with skull caps and do-rags. The winds in headwear are also blowing toward hats made of moisture-wicking and other performance materials.

Uniforms has researched some of these changes to give you and your clients a “heads up” on what uniform wearers will have on their heads this year.

Law Enforcement Goes Low Profile

Law enforcement personnel are there to serve and protect, but traditional uniforms are less and less practical for wearing on the streets. “The model uniform for us in the field came from the military uniform that they only wear in the office,” says Sgt. James Fairfield of the Tallahassee Police Department. “Nobody went to field work or battle in patent-leather shoes. One good scuffle and it’s done.”

While the Tallahassee PD’s patrol group still wears the “bus driver” hats – “patent-leather brim, uniform device on the front, metal band around the base” – some of the department’s other units now have a more relaxed look. “The gang and bike units wear black 5.11 [Tactical] short-sleeve shirts and shorts or long pants made of a Supplex/nylon material. The transit/downtown guys wear a gray polo shirt. K-9 wears blue BDU-style pants and shirts. This whole bunch wears ball caps,” he says.

Steve Gilkeson, vice president of marketing at Perfection Uniforms, sees this lower-profile trend as well, and says that a lot of police departments are looking to get a higher grade of cap, rather than cheaper, lower-quality ones. “Why spend a lot of money on a uniform and get a cheap cap?” he says. He says that caps with liquid-repellent capabilities on the exterior and moisture-wicking abilities on the interior have become quite popular recently, for obvious reasons. Perfection Uniforms also developed a five-panel cap (a traditional ball cap has six panels) to make embroidery or logo placement easier and cleaner looking. With the conventional six-panel cap, the seam would run through any logo or design placed in the front. A five-panel, low profile hat with UV protection, liquid repellency and internal moisture wicking has also been a hit in this market.

While this movement to lower-profile, more casual headwear is evident in the law enforcement arena, the dress cap will most likely always have a place in the closets of law enforcement officers. “I think having the ‘traditional’ look in the closet for special events is still needed,” says Fairfield. Switching to a more practical style when in action, however, is definitely a positive move. “If [going lower profile] makes us more comfortable and potentially safer, then as long as the community still accepts us, it’s hard to argue that it’s not helpful,” he says.

Chef Headwear Not as Lofty

Joe Nadler remembers a chef customer of his being interviewed by CNN one time because, while bending over a cauldron of soup, his toque slipped off and fell right into the soup. Needless to say, this particular chef may be switching to a closer and tighter-fitting headwear style.

The sky’s usually the limit in chef headwear, but if you peek at your clients in the kitchen you may notice some downsizing going on. While toques – the tall, brimless headwear usually associated with culinary artists – are still being worn, headwear fitting more closely to the head and with better breathability is being worn more frequently. Skull caps, do-rags, beanies and berets and just a few examples of chef headwear that are being worn in place of toques. Both Nadler, chairman of Happy Chef Uniforms (asi/59610), and Scott Thackston, executive vice president of Aprons Etc. (asi/36558), say that sales for toques and the newer headwear styles have been about even. “It’s been a decent cross-section over the last six months,” says Thackston.

Nadler says skull caps were originally used by bakers, but are “fairly new” to other positions within foodservice. Do-rags, he says, are more of an adaptation of street wear. They do serve to hold back any loose hairs pretty well, however, making them a great choice for the kitchen. One of the advantages to wearing a skull cap or do-rag is the enhanced ventilation not typically available with a toque, which is usually made from some type of cloth or paper. Happy Chef Uniforms offers a skull cap made from a moisture-release material that also has an open-weave top, for breathability. Aprons Etc. also offers a cap with the mesh top, made of 100% premium cotton twill. As far as colors go, Thackston says Aprons Etc. offers a wide variety of colors, but the traditional colors sell best. “Traditionally black and white sell the most, over the pattern prints,” he says. “Standard colors are always the top seller, because it’s more flexible with what they’re wearing.”

New Looks for Headwear

If uniform hats are changing, then that’s usually a sign that headwear in general has been evolving. “It used to be that brushed twills and cotton twills were the norm,” says Mark Stern, vice president of sales at Flexfit. Now, he says, “People are really looking for some new, interesting novelty fabrics.”

Eco-friendly and performance fabrics are huge in both retail and wholesale right now, and headwear is definitely picking up on the trend. Lee Strom, senior marketing manager at SanMar (asi/84863), says there is evidence of a push this year toward more environmentally friendly fabrics. “Bamboo is a wonderful example of a new eco-friendly headwear fabric, not only because it’s sustainable, but also because it has so many naturally occurring performance properties,” says Strom. Bamboo fabrics are naturally soft and anti bacterial, so they help to prevent a lot of odors. They’re also moisture wicking, so they fit right into the performance-apparel arena as well.

Colors seem to be au naturale as well, with browns, pinks and shades of green abounding. “Pinks have become much more readily acceptable,” says Stern. In the retail market, white and brown are abounding as well, he says. In the end, though, Stern says that color “really does confine itself to the market that you’re in.” Black and navy blue will always be popular, due to the versatility and timelessness of those colors.

When it comes to hat styles, a few seem to be making a big comeback. Stern says the demand for trucker hats has picked up recently, and that Flexfit has orders into 2010 for these “retro” styles. With these hats, Stern says, “Style progresses itself into function.” Baseball and softball teams have been ordering trucker hats rather than the traditional ball cap to keep current with styles. Flexfit has a high-crown trucker hat that has been in its line almost since the company started in business 34 years ago. Recently, Stern says, the hat has been rediscovered by young people, but is still favored by the “older gentlemen” who have worn the style for years.

Knit beanies have become wildly popular in an unexpected way as well. “When I was a younger person, a knit beanie was used solely for the function of keeping warm,” says Stern. “Now it’s turned into a fashion statement.” He says people now wear them indoors and year round, which he partially attributes to the celebrities seen wearing them constantly. Stern says Flexfit sells a good deal of knits during the summer now, and that the younger generation is really into this particular trend. “Camos are very, very strong also, and that’s definitely a style,” says Stern. The camo print has become popular on wearable products overall, such as T-shirts and bottoms, so it’s a trend that looks like it’s ready to hang around for a while.

With all of the new and exciting changes not only in the uniforms headwear arena, but with headwear overall, there are options for everyone. From traditional to contemporary to everything in between, headwear is more versatile than ever. That’s a trend that will only continue to grow.

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