A Quick History of the Snapback Hat

Kiwi Hats
3 min readJul 17, 2018

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If you are a hat lover, we’re pretty sure you have a couple of snapback hats included in your collection. Snapbacks are one of the most widely used hats of today. With their distinctive flat brim look, snapbacks are a great statement accessory for hat lovers of all ages. When you are doing shopping and browsing the best place to buy snapback caps online , you’ve probably wondered how the snapback hat came into the scene.

Let’s take a look back at history and see how this all started..

Most people think that snapbacks first emerged in the 1990s. During this era, pop culture celebrated the snapback style. Several music groups like N.W.A and Mobb Deep were advocates of the cool hat. The biggest rap artists like Tupac Shakur, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre were often seen wearing snapbacks too.

Thanks to the hip hop artists who advertised the snapback, it didn’t take long for the public to fall in love with the style. Pretty soon, the snapback became one of the biggest trends in the 90s.

While it may have reached its peak during the 90s, that really wasn’t the first time the snapback was introduced. The hit accessory actually has roots from baseball way back in the 1950s. The baseball team Brooklyn Excelsiors wore the first snapbacks in 1958. It was a simple design with a round crown and a short, flat brim.

The style slowly gained recognition, urging entrepreneurs to cater to the demand. New Era, now known to be the best place to buy hats, started designing snapback hats for baseball teams. One of their first designs was for the Cleveland Indians and the rest of the Major League teams like the Brooklyn Dodgers and Detroit Tigers followed suit.

The first snapbacks that New Era created featured an 8-panel design. Later on in the late 1950s, they reinvented the look and made it into a 6-panel style, which is the design of the modern snapback of today.

But like all fashion trends, the snapback hat was also not immune to setbacks. The hype died down in the 1970s and was almost forgotten. More than a decade after, hip hop artists and even the Fresh Prince of Bel Air started wearing it again, pushing its popularity to the 90s generation.

The snapback trend continued to have its highs and lows throughout the years. It has evolved and grown so much since it first debuted. Today, it has cemented itself as a staple accessory among hat lovers and fashionistas.

Looking for the best place to buy hats? Our site carries a wide range of styles for every hat lover — from cool snapbacks to classic strapbacks, you will find one (or more) that will fit your tastes. Check out our full collection here.

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