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New Era – the sporty & urban brand with cult status

Topic overview

A cap brand known worldwide
New Era: Model guide
Which New Era hat is the right one for me?

A cap brand known worldwide

From Looney Tunes to Marvel and the New York Yankees: the New Era brand has put all legendary sport and film motifs on their caps since the 1920s. Their breakthrough began in 1954 with the internationally renowned 59Fifty cap, which became the standard headgear for Major League Baseball (MLB) teams.

Where did the 59Fifty cap get its name from? Most believe that it was related to the product number, 5950 – but the truth is: no one knows. What we do know with 100% confidence, however, is that it has always been a robust and high quality cap. Because the New Era company has been manufacturing under their ambitious motto from the beginning.

"Quality first, quantity will follow." – New Era in the 1930s

This motto has proved to be true – New Era now manufactures around 30 million caps per year and holds licences for 220 teams in various sports. The brand has become an integral part of the hip hop scene, everyday life and sports. Various hat models are tremendously popular, e.g. beanies, as well as bucket hats are in high demand.

American sports caps from New Era

In addition to Mitchell & Ness and 47 Brand, New Era is top dog when it comes to sports teams caps for the MLB, NBA, NHL and NFL. Every year they make caps in new, creative designs for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, LA Lakers, LA Dodgers, Chicago Bulls, and many more. Here at Hatshopping there is even an extra page for American sports caps – we hope you have fun browsing!

New Era: Model guide

With such a wide variety of New Era caps, we want to help you get a clear picture of their range. We have put together a brief overview of the most famous models made by New Era:

Model	Crown	Fit	Peak
9Twenty	unreinforced	adjustable (strapback)	curved
9Forty	reinforced	adjustable (varied)	curved
9Fifty	reinforced	adjustable (snapback)	straight (except Stretch Snap)
59Fifty	reinforced	Fitted	straight
39Thirty	reinforced	Flexfit	curved
19Twenty	unreinforced	Fitted	straight
29Twenty	unreinforced	Fitted	curved

The above-mentioned features relate to the standard versions. For example, the 9Fifty is now also available as a stretch cap with a curved peak. Likewise, all the adjustable caps can have a metal buckle, snap closure or hook-and-loop-closure. The crown is usually made up of six parts (6 panel caps), but can also come in five parts (5 panel caps) to add a special accent.

Trucker caps (or mesh caps) are recommended for men and women who like a particularly airy feel in the summer. The rear part of these caps is made of mesh. In the winter, however, we recommend opting for a full cap (59Fifty or 39Thirty). Dad hats are also bang on trend. Dad hats are unreinforced baseball caps with a simple, often monochrome retro design. Here is a list of some more important cap vocabulary.

Technical term	Explanation
Structured cap	Cap with a reinforced crown
Unstructured cap	Cap with an unreinforced crown
Adjustable cap	Adjustable cap
Fitted cap	Perfect fit and closed at the back
Flexfit cap	Stretchy and closed at the back
Curved brim	Curved peak
Flat brim	Straight peak

How do I wear a New Era cap?

There are practically no no-goes when it comes to New Era caps. They can be worn at an angle, backwards, above or partly covering the ears. Some people just lightly place the cap on their head. Worn in the classic way, however, you would wear it slightly above the ears, with the back of the cap pulled down further than over the forehead and with the peak facing forwards.

There has been a raging debate about the original sticker for a long time now – leave it on or take it off? At the end of the day, this is a matter of personal taste.

Which New Era hat is the right one for me?

Men and women, girls and boys can wear New Era caps. We have worked out two factors that are important for figuring out the right New Era cap for you: the cap size and your head shape.

Finding the right size

The cap size information can be found on all of our New Era cap product pages. So all you need to know is your own head size. Our instructions will help you figure this out.

As New Era also has different names for the age groups and units of measure, we have put together the following size table to help you find the perfect fitted cap. As these caps do not have a closure at the back and therefore cannot be adjusted, you have to buy the right size that will not be too large or too small.

New Era: Fitted caps size chart

Centimetres	Inches	New Era Größe	Age group
48.2	19	6	Infant (0-2)
51.1	20 1/8	6 3/8	Toddler (2-4)
52	20 1/2	6 1/2	Child (4-6)
53	20 7/8	6 5/8	Child (4-6)
53.9	21 1/4	6 3/4	Youth (6-12)
54.9	21 5/8	6 7/8	Youth (6-12)
55.8	22	7	Adult (over 12)
56.8	22 3/8	7 1/8	Adult (over 12)
57.7	22 3/4	7 1/4	Adult (over 12)
58.7	23 1/8	7 3/8	Adult (over 12)
59.6	23 1/2	7 1/2	Adult (over 12)
60.6	23 7/8	7 5/8	Adult (over 12)
61.5	24 1/4	7 3/4	Adult (over 12)
62.5	24 5/8	7 7/8	Adult (over 12)
63.5	25	8	Adult (over 12)

Finding the right New Era cap for your head shape

A distinction is made between the following face shapes: round, square, oval and heart-shaped. As a rule of thumb, you should always pick a cap that contrasts with the shape of your head to create visual balance. For example, a person with a square-shaped face should look for caps with rounded elements, e.g. a baseball cap with a curved peak. On this basis, we have divided up the New Era caps by face shape.

Round

9Fifty
59Fifty
Structured caps with a straight peak

Square

9Twenty
29Twenty
Unstructured caps with a curved peak

Heart

9Forty
39Thirty
Structured caps with a curved peak

Oval

The “hat face shape”
Can wear all types of caps

Looking after New Era caps

Looking after New Era caps is no different than it is for other caps. We have in-depth instructions on how to wash and store caps on our caps category page. Caps can usually always be washed by hand. Under certain circumstances, it is also possible to clean them in the dishwasher or washing machine. For more detailed care instructions, check out our text on caps and the cap’s care label.

Cleaning sets and waterproofing sprays from Empire can also be ordered in our online shop.