Trucker Hats

Capitalist Xenomorph

Welcome to Neverrong. Read along here for any and all juicy tidbits and links you may have missed along the way. Listen to the FULL EPISODE HERE.

This is an episode about trucker hats… this is also our maiden voyage as a new standalone podcast (Goodbye Heddels, you were good to us, but we had to strike out on our own). But before we get to any of what you came for, Reed begins the episode by regaling us with his journey to find his dream pair of Engineered Garments 8 Wale Corduroy Painters Pants - pictured below. But enough about that…

Trucker Hats: The Episode

All three of the hosts are wearing trucker hats in honor of the episode. David has on a vintage South Korean-made Shimano trucker hat. Reed wears a PDA trucker hat without a mesh back that has been modified by Western Hydrodynamic Research. Albert wears a hat from Albion Dispensing Solutions obtained at a concrete convention. 

Albert started thinking about truckers after getting people riled up when he posted a video wearing the (in)famous Bass Pro Shops trucker hat. He found it at the bins, so thought it was fair game, but apparently not so! It has become a super basic thing associated with annoying young tiktokers.

Reed and David, growing up in Utah and Colorado respectively, don’t recall the Bass Pro Shops hat really having any caché. They think of it as being the layman’s equivalent of the trucker hat in blue collar circles - where people usually have a hat from a more specific business or brand. (think John Deere…)

Trucker Hats as a tiktok-centric (and social media-centric) trend make a lot of sense right now. Somehow incredibly 70s, perfect for the waifish bell bottoms wearers, decidedly blue collar, perfect for the carhartt jockeys, and with the Von Dutch and larger Y2K revival - very gen-Z does early 2000s. 

The trend is alive and well (an essay on hipster culture from Scandinavia describes trucker hats being popular as far back as 2010)

Brands Doing Truckers (besides vintage)

• Metalwood studios ($40)

• Rosa Rugosa ($50) As seen on the bear!

• Huckberry x Coors ($26) 

• Broadway Local ($30)

• Wythe Rodeo Brand ($48)

History

Trucker hats began life as so-called “gimme hats.” They were cheap promotional giveaways, given to farmers and truckers to advertise feed companies, tractor companies, etc. Early trucker hats were printed or had patches. Trucker hats proliferated in the 70s and were made to be mass-produce-able, comfortable, and cheap. As such, it was rarer to see them embroidered.

Typically a five panel construction, a trucker hat’s goal is to be legible. A descendant of higher-crowned baseball caps, the front of the trucker hat needs to be wide enough and tall enough to function as a John Deere billboard or whatever you want to advertise. A mesh back is also functional, as are the cushy sweatbands you often find in em.

Magnum PI is said to be largely influential in the trucker hat movement. As is Ashton Kutcher in the 2000s.

Ashton Kutcher in 2003, wearing a trucker hat, askew, along with a striped dress shirt under a a quarter zip.

Von Dutch: we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss Von Dutch. Von Dutch is the now-infamous brand that gained massive popularity in the early 2000s. Inspired by racist motorcycle mechanic and pinstriper, Kenny Howard, the rights to this brand became hotly contested over the years.

In the 90s, a collector named Ed Boswell obtained the rights to the Von Dutch name and began selling patches, which attracted the interests of Michael Cassel and Bobby Vaughan. The three entered business together, expanding the Von Dutch line to include garage and hot rod themed clothing - including workwear. Some of which were allegedly, Dickies with tags removed. 

Cassel and Vaughan bought Boswell out and brought in Tony Sorenson as CEO. It was under Sorenson’s leadership that French designer, Christian Audigier, apparently brought the trucker into the line. (Sorenson alternately claims to have designed it!)

There was a bunch more drama after that, but it was all the trucker hat doing its job - advertising. We highly recommend the Von Dutch documentary on Hulu.

How Would we Wear It:

Albert: I’d wear it like Tom Selleck in Magnum PI and not like Ashton Kutcher or Timberlake in the 2000s. But honestly, for me, a hat is just about having a place to put my hair when it’s kind of crazy. Sure, you can wear it with a blazer for a cool, 90s celeb in airport look, but it’s just a tool for me.

I love the high crown, I think it helps emphasize my face shape - as opposed to a low “dad cap” style hat. I prefer the truckers that don’t have quite such a wide crown. Long and tall is my preference.

I’d also lean into the history. Cheesy trucker hats, commercial ones advertising for paint stores and mechanics’ shops are the most fun. You can always find them vintage and cheap. They don’t have to be upscale. Just maybe don’t wear a Von Dutch one cuz he was a Nazi sympathizer.

David: David doesn’t really want to wear these unless they represent a brand he can speak about seamlessly.

Reed:  A trucker hat is one of those things [that makes you look good] and as long as you don’t wear it like Ashton Kutcher at the VMAs, you’re going to be okay. You might look a little dirtbag-y, but you can get away with looking a little dirtbag-y as long as you don’t look like a clown. 

Rating:

Albert: 9

“I like ‘em, they make my head look good. The mesh back is crucial during LA summers. They get the job done.”

Reed: 6-8

“Mesh backs have always been kinda funky for me, but I do respect the function and I think they look good on a lot of people, so I’ll give ‘em a 6. The normal pointy crown and no mesh back I’ll go with a solid 8.”

David: 6.5-9.6

“For me there’s 2 scores to it. My claim is that this is the most capitalist garment ever made. Even though I’m not the biggest fan of capitalism I have to give mad respect to this thing. Just in how extremely functional and effective it is. It’s kind of the xenomorph of clothing, that is suited to its one purpose as perfectly as possible. For that I got to give it a 9.6 in that regard. In terms of me personally wearing it, the point in styling it is in something I participate in. This one I got as a gift,Chimano is a brand I have on my bicycle,I have Chimano brakes. That’s something that I’ma part of and if someone asks me what Chimano is, I can tell them that. For me wearing it, I’d give it a 6.5. This trend is gonna come back in a much quicker life cycle.”