Hats Off to the Fickleness of Fashion
Thanks to Hot Topic and other .alt mall’tailers that mass-produce underground fashion trends as quickly as they appear in clubs and other boho-kid hangouts, new fashions roar from made to played faster than disposable razors. Take hipster headwear. Cheap and easily manufactured, hat styles go from obscurity to ubiquity and back again in a matter of months. Here is a recap of hip hats that have peaked and mercifully vanished in L.A. in the last few years, along with a couple of nominees for oblivion.
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Style: Kangol Bucket Cap
Seen On: Fred Durst and every tattooed chain wallet owner in North America throughout 1999.
Dead Because: Hogtied to that other unfortunate trend, funky metal, the bucket cap apexed with the mercifully brief popularity of Limp Bizkit. Those other funky metal signifiers--beer guts, bad tattoos and riffs weaker than Sanka--ensured that this trend plummeted faster than a lead zeppelin.
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Style: Sports Headband
Seen On: Luke Wilson in “The Royal Tenenbaums,” NBA players galore.
Dead Because: Tennis Viking Bjorn Borg broke out the headband during the mid ‘70s to keep his flowing locks in place during epic battles with John McEnroe. Wilson’s “Tenenbaum” get-up inspired a latter-day trend that culminated on Halloween night 2002, when hordes of hipster imitators borrowed the idea for costumes. Minus cat gut strings and a racket frame, this style didn’t have the legs to go five sets.
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Style: Trucker Cap
Seen On: Ashton Kutcher, Justin Timberlake and farmers and truck drivers across the American heartland.
Dead Because: From regulars at Echo Park’s Short Stop bar to Westside film execs, L.A. scene-makers male and female alike have been running this style into the ground for the past six months. Wannabes be warned: No amount of subversive button positioning, airbrushing or other decorating fillips can resuscitate this utterly played-out look.
Style: Newsboy Cap
Seen On: Newspaper boys in early 20th century America, celebrities such as Janet Jackson and present-day aspiring hipsters throughout Los Angeles.
Dead Because: Not dead yet, but it should be. Soon. Really soon. These days you can’t walk into a dance club, bar, or party without seeing one of these--a sure sign that the newsboy cap is more staid, and predictable, than a “Bachelor” rerun. Good riddance.
