FASHION WRITER SUSAN LANGENHENNIG ASKS THE QUESTION: ARE HATS HIP?

The answer is “yes.” Here is the hat story that ran in the New Orleans Times Picayune and in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Puttin' on the Pitt

Brad's newsboy cap is one of fashion's top stories
Saturday, December 29, 2007

By Susan Langenhennig
Fashion writer

They've been called the newsboy, the Jay Gatsby, the Big Apple, the Ivy, the eight panel, even the Lundberg Stetson.

But the classic flat cap, popular with 19th-century longshoremen and 21st-century celebrities, should be known these days simply as the Brad Pitt. The heartthrob humanitarian and his cap seem to be inseparable.

He donned a heathered newsboy with jeans and a T-shirt for a recent news conference in the Lower 9th Ward. He wore a flat cap with a full-length coat for a walk on the red carpet at the "Beowulf" premiere. He grabbed a gray topper for a bike ride around the French Quarter with Angelina Jolie and the kids.

For interviews on "Larry King Live" and the "Today" show, the cap was back. On the "Charlie Rose" show, there it was again.

Of late, Pitt's been making more than a sartorial statement with his many hats. His signature newsboy went on sale earlier this month to raise money for Make It Right, his charitable green housing initiative in the Lower 9th Ward. The look was so popular, the caps have completely sold out.

Despite their top-selling status, "we don't think we'll reissue the hats," said Virginia Miller, spokeswoman for Make It Right. The project has other merchandise, including T-shirts and eco-friendly pink tote bags, for sale on its Web site at www.makeitrightnola.org.

With Pitt's endorsement, the newsboy cap's cool factor has soared. Once associated more with local broadcaster Ronnie Virgets and the racetrack crowd, the hats are now common at places where the cool kids hang.

A recent lunch crowd at Herbsaint included two women sporting newsboys. On a Friday night on Fulton Street, a gaggle of hip 20-somethings, some clad in skinny ties and flat caps, traipsed under the faux snow holiday display.

The look seems to call out for comments like "Hey, guvna," "What's up, Cap?" and "Hello, old sport."

Every few years, the style makes a comeback, slipping in and out of the pop culture periscope. While the baseball cap seems to personify the democratic ideal (presidents to postal workers wear them), the flat cap equally shares the image of the elite and everyman.

It's been favored by tweedy old Britons in knickers and high boots and dock hands in sooty dungarees and steel toes.

Golfers in the 1920s took to the shape, matching it with knee-highs and pullovers for a jaunt around the greens.

In the '80s and '90s, the cap went to the heads of rappers and jillions of hip-hop kids in clubs. In 1997, Samuel Jackson exuded cool in his Kangol turned backward in "Jackie Brown."

Paul Meyer of Meyer the Hatter, one of New Orleans' oldest hat shops, says the flat cap is a perennial seller at his Central Business District store. "It's more of a dress cap than a baseball cap," he said, "and it's a little retro, a classic look."

"It's not overpowering," he said, and comes in a variety of fabrics, from wool to leather to summer-weight blends. Customers of all ages take to the cap, Meyer said.

That's because the shape flatters many faces, said Diane Feen, editor of Hat Life, a head wear industry publication that highlights fashion trends at www.hatlife.com.

The sheer scope of the newsboy's appeal is rather head-turning. Few accessories have curried favor with such an assortment of stars as comedian Dave Chappelle and actor Daniel Craig, rapper Notorious B.I.G. and AC/DC singer Brian Johnson.

Even the gals have gotten into the look, with Sarah Jessica Parker, Madonna and Brittney Spears spotted in newsboys. The latter wore one to cover her freshly shorn noggin, poor darlin'.

Perhaps the secret to the cap's popularity is its many permutations. The eight-panel, also known as the Jay Gatsby, comes with a fuller top and a snap-button closure. The Big Apple is the same hat, only with a more floppy shape. Other models are flatter, sitting lower and tighter on the head.

Attitude seems to dictate the angle for sporting such a cap. Robert Redford wore his white linen version at brow level in Francis Ford Coppola's 1974 classic, "The Great Gatsby."

Rapper 50 Cent prefers his with a slight tilt.

The flat cap also travels well, Feen said.

"Years ago, our fathers and grandfathers wore hats, and they would take them off and put them on a table or hat rack in places," she said. "But today, if you go to the movies or a restaurant, you have to worry about where to put it. With this cap, you can fold it and just stick it into your pocket. It's perfect for today."

Susan Langenhennig can be reached at slangenhennig@timespicayune.com or 504-826-3379.