I don’t wear caps like this guy.
I was at a sports shop yesterday and I was looking at a few caps they had for sale. I saw one very unique San Diego Padres cap and I asked the worker there if he could get me one in my size to try on.
The cap had not been worn before, so the brim of it was flat. But since I find the flat-brimmed style as something I don’t like, nor feel comfortable wearing, I started to bend the brim of it before I put it on. I like all of my caps bills bent — it feels better to me.
Then another worker (wearing a flat-brimmed cap) at the store saw me bending and scolded me for bending it, threatening me that if I bend the bill, I have to buy it. He claimed that bending the bill of the cap decreases its value.
I questioned back, asking how could I try on the cap if I can’t try it on the way I wear it? There is a different feel with a flat compared to a bend. How could I try the cap on if I can’t wear it the way it was meant to be worn?
He didn’t know how to respond. I left the store without buying anything.
I understood his point for keeping the bills flat, but he made it seem like flat was the only way to wear caps. Does this make sense to you? I know flat is a preference for some, but it isn’t for everyone. I like my bills bent and I feel that I have a right to bend the cap in order to see if it fits me right.
Has the flat-brimmed cap become so popular that people actually think it’s the only way to roll?
But at the end of the day... 
Hate it. I always bend them.
I agree. I cant stand the bill of a hat being worn straight. Ive slways bent the bills of my cap since i was in little league baseball. That was the way all people wore them. Till this day i bend my bill and people sometimes heckle me for it. I just point out to them that they must be in the bandwagon and have seen one too many rap videos. Afterall that is were this fad originated from. P.s. i hate when people lwear them with the tags and stickers on them. . @9ernonstop
This story just disgusted me! The whole flat brim look has gotten out of control. I can’t believe it’s gone this far.
The flat brim hat originated from skateboarders from what I can remember. Now it has obviously hit the mainstream.
I can tell how a hat looks on me even with a flat bill. But the store is right, bending the bill is something you do once you own it.
Out of all the hat stores I’ve been to in my lifetime, this place is the only one that has ever made an issue of bending the bill. All other places know that a flat brim feels different than a bent one and in order for me to get the right feel, I have to bend it. And it’s not like you can’t make the bill flat again afterward. The store employee is wrong.
I find it ironic that 90% of flat bill ‘enthusiasts’ claim it purports their individuality. How can it be individualistic when its a trend; a rather odious and sycophantic trend that in no way emphasizes individuality? Rather, it promotes a meme of degradation in society that consorts collectivism and idolitry. An individual is someone who invests time and capital towards their inward appearance–not their outward appearance.
Hey Samuel, I was just googling something about flat-billed hats and I randomly came across this old blog-post of yours. The funny thing is, I actually attend the same church as you. Just read your blog about the Linsanity movie. Great stuff.
Anyways, even though I’m a flat-bill guy, I think it sucks about the Cap Nazis you came across.
But I’m sure they were less annoying than some sneakerheads I know. I hope you found your cap elsewhere. Enjoying the posts, keep up the good work.
BTW, I never realized there was so much controversy over how one wears their hat. I really don’t put that much thought into what I wear. The flat-bill just frames my big ol’ Korean face a little better than a bent one.
Thanks! I ended up returning months later and buying the cap anyway because they were the only place that sold it
If you want controversy, you should check out the hilarious back and forth on my post about stickers on caps.
I’m a little older but in my day a flat billed cap was what you called a booger picker cap. The curve in the bill is meant to keep the sun out of your eyes from the sides. Wearing it like the booger sugar lover in the picture above is for girls who usually wear a bow on the side of their pretty hat.
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The only reason they don’t bend them is so they can wear them, then take them back and exchange them saying they never wore it. It’s a ghetto-fabulous wardrobe fu@k off. I hate it,….and what it stands for.