Newsboy caps are anything but old hat

Britney Spears wore hers to all the spring shows in New York in September, and there was no shortage of them during Los Angeles fashion week either. What’s the deal with newsboy caps? They conceal a bad hair day, keep a bald head warm (the stylist Philip Bloch knows that) and convey a tamely rebellious attitude. The caps, which are associated with the youngsters who hawked hot-off-the-presses headlines back when kids had jobs, have again become a fashion item. They were popularized by child actor Jackie Coogan in the silent film era and revived during the 1960s Carnaby Street craze. Part of a general resurgence in hats, today’s newsboy caps have been updated in patchwork to fit the bohemian trend, corduroy for preppies and leather for those with an affinity for 1970s urban soul.