Welcome to Stiksen's very own glossary for caps. Many are struggling with the terminology in the world of caps (no wonder, there's a whole science behind them). In order to help you, we have taken it back to school and created this cap glossary - your cheat sheet to understand caps.
In modern times, the cap has become a general term for the headwear with a rounded crown combined with a brim, with the purpose of protecting the eyes from direct sun light. The cap comes in many shapes and forms, as baseball cap, dad cap and trucker cap among others. Many people use the term "hat" instead of "cap", but we dare to say that hat is a more broader term and includes more types of headwear than cap.
Simply put, "baseball cap" is probably the type of headwear you think of when hearing the word "cap". The baseball cap comes in many shapes and forms, all of which we are describing in this page. Though, there is one variant of the cap that specifically is referred to as the classic baseball cap; the one with stiff front panels (structured front) and curved brim. Some people also refer to the baseball cap as baseball hat.
A dad cap (or dad hat) is a cap variant, often made of six panels, that derives from the classic baseball cap but with the exception that is has soft front panels (unstructured front). The main physical difference between a dad cap and a baseball cap is that the dad cap lacks the buckram on the inside of the front panels, which provides a soft front and makes the cap lie directly on the forehead instead of creating its own silhouette. The dad cap usually has a curved brim. Our bestselling dad cap is the 105 Ventile Midnight, which is weatherproof.
A flat brim cap is a kind of cap with a high profile (steep front) and a flat brim. The flat brim cap is also sometimes called "snapback", which as a matter of fact is a completely different thing. Though, "snapbacks" have become synonym to "flat brim cap" since flat brims often contain snapbacks, i.e. the plastic buckle in the back. Flat brim caps became popular in modern time around the beginning of the 21st century when celebrities within music and sports started wearing them. Does the flat visor fill any function compared to a curved brim? No.
The trucker cap is formed like a typical baseball cap, but instead of being made of cotton fabric, the two front panels of a trucker hat are made of foam while the back panels are made of plastic mesh for breathability. The design of the trucker cap was intended to make the cap much cooler in the sun and hot weather for the comfort of the wearer. The trucker cap is also known as a mesh cap or netback cap.
What does No Cap mean? The phrase is commonly used in social media, mainly by young (and trendy?) people. Sorry to disappoint you, but it has nothing to do with the headwear. As "capping" is a term coined to replace "lying" in some communities, No Cap means that someone is not lying, or basically the term functions as a synonym to "for real". Even though the phrase has nothing to do with actual headwear, we thought it'd be nice to include it in our glossary.
Basically, a cap consists of two main parts; the crown and the brim. While the crown covers your head, the brim of the cap is the piece that sticks out and protects your face from the sun. It is usually made of plastic and is covered with the same fabric as the cap crown. The brim can be curved, slightly curved or flat, and comes in different shapes. The brim can also be called visor, peak or bill.
The panels are the different fabric pieces that are stitched together to build up the crown of the hat. All standard baseball caps have two side and two rear panels, but the front can consist of either two separate panels or one big assembled panel.
The buckram is a stiff-finished heavy cotton or linen part, used for interlinings in caps. In baseball caps, the buckram can be seen on the inside of the front panel(s), which makes a structured front. The purpose of the buckram is to give baseball caps its own silhouette regardless of head shape. Buckrams are not used in dad caps, as dad caps' front panel(s) are made to be soft. At Stiksen, we call our styles including the buckram 107, whilst the 105 are the styles without the stiff panels.
Basically, a cap consists of two main parts; the crown and the brim. While the brim of the cap is the piece that sticks out and protects your face from the sun, the crown is the part that covers your head. The crown is usually built up by five or six panels that are sewn together to the shape of a half globe. In order to describe the height of the crown, the term "Profile" is often used. A hat crown height or hat profile simply refers to how high or low the top of the hat is. Higher crown hats give you more headroom and appear much larger. Lower crown hats fit closer to the head for a sharper, snappier look.
The button on the top of a cap is called something as descriptive as "Top Button", but can also be called “Squatcho” or “Squatchee”. It is usually covered with the same fabric as the one used in the cap crown. The purpose of the button is to simply cover the joint point where the panels of the hat meet. Some caps do not have a button out of design purposes.
Adjustable baseball caps have closures on the back of the caps that allow the wearer to adjust the cap size. There are a few types of closures, of which strapback and snapback are the two most common ones. Snapback is always made of plastic with buttons to snap, while strapback closings usually are made of the same fabric as the rest of the cap. At Stiksen, we mostly use strapback and velcro in order to avoid plastic as well as for design purposes.
When a cap doesn't have a closure but instead have the back part fully covered with the same fabric as the rest of the crown, the cap is called "fitted". This means that the cap is not adjustable, and therefore it is of great importance to find a cap with correct size, perfectly fitting ones' head circumference.
Embroidered holes on caps, also called eyelets, is a common feature on the vast majority of all the caps out there. Caps have holes in them because the holes contribute to ventilation, why they also are called "Ventilation holes". The holes let go of heat generated from the head, to keep it cool. Eyelets are part of the standard design elements in caps.
Stiksen Ventile® caps do not contain eyelets because of its waterproof function - eyelets would let rain drops fall in. The high-quality Ventile® fabrics are made of premium 100% organic cotton, which ensures the caps to be ventilated and waterproof at the same time.
Seam rows are the stitching that form rows to hold the fabric of caps together. Seam rows are visible right next to the joints of the panels as well as on the brim, where the functionality is to attach the cloth to the hard material that is underneath. It makes the fabric stay in place and prevents it to become wrinkled.
Did you know that in late '90s Sweden, the number of seam rows on a cap's brim was believed to determine its authenticity? If a Yankees cap had seven seam rows or less, some thought it was a counterfeit! Today, we know it was merely a myth, and the seams are more about design than actual functionality.
The taping covers the conjunctions of the several cap panels to make the inside of the cap more smooth. With taping, the cap wearer will not be bothered by stitches and consequently feel more comfortable when wearing the cap. Taping is usually made of cotton.
The cap's sweatband is a band of fabric, layering the inner edge of a hat with the purpose of absorbing sweat and preventing sweat damage. The sweatband is an essential part of a cap due to its important functionality.
Cap lining is a layer of thin lightweight fabric, usually cotton, on the inside of a baseball cap. The lining is not an obligatory element of a cap, but is a premium feature in order to enhance the weight and comfort of the cap. Most caps in general do not include lining, however the majority of our caps at Stiksen do.