January 2007

Get Ahead in the Headwear Game

2007 brings you more headwear options than ever before. Here are the top trends from fit to styling.

By Tonia Cook Kimbrough

We all could use another hat. With an array of distinctive styles, fun fabrics and decorative detailing, it’s easy for distributors to whet their customers’ appetites for a hat that fits just right. A number of trends are popping up in headwear this year, including hats made of material to fit wearers’ heads better, and caps made with performance fabrics, which offer moisture management and other benefits. You’ll also see camouflage caps, cool detailing such as embroidery mixed with rhinestones, and outdoorsy, organic colors. Look for headwear with a patriotic flair, and a bevy of hats at different price points.

The hats you present to clients must be fashionable, functional and attractively priced. The key is to tap into current styles, but that have classic styling to last past this season. People typically own numerous versions and settle on a few favorites to make the cut from closet to street wear.
Ensure the promotional headwear you propose meets the light of day by looking at 2007’s hottest trends.

The Right Fit
First, think fit. In a world where personalization and customization increasingly have become easy, the idea of the one-size-fits-all cap isn’t what it used to be. Therefore, the business of specially fitted caps has become a niche worth investigating.

“Stretch fit” styles are one way to accommodate various hat sizes. The Flexfit brand, for example, uses a patented technology to weave Spandex into the sweatband and into the entire crown of the cap so that it snugly and comfortably hugs the wearer – regardless of head size.

Of course, there are fitted hats available as well, though this option requires you to decide upon a size-distribution for your order. Suppliers will help by suggesting typical ratios. Many offer size ranges that are calibrated to match traditional U.S. hat sizing and can give you tips for how to measure individuals for uniform programs. (See the “Sized to Fit” sidebar, p. 44.)

In addition, 2007 brings new brands sized to fit. Sportsman Cap Network has lined up “Big Head Caps” brand, which has a retail claim to fame touting, “headwear for the cranially endowed.” These caps are upsized to fit the XXL to XXXL head. Some famous heads that have donned this cult favorite include Jay Leno, George Foreman and, yes, even Oprah Winfrey.

Performance
Just as fit matters, so does performance, bringing us to a second trend. All the high-tech fabrications and treatments made popular in apparel have crept up the torso to treat heads with the same protections of moisture management, cooling properties and UV protection. Adams Headwear offers the Sunblock line, for example.

Its Sunshield style is fabricated from lightweight nylon treated with ceramic coating to reflect ultraviolet rays and designed with extra-long visors with green underneath for shading. Its exclusive Cool-Crown mesh liner promotes cooling and minimizes staining.

“The most popular 2007 performance fabrics are CoolMax and antibacterial fabrics for moisture wicking protection and odor prevention. AlphaGear’s antibacterial technology also features thermal regulation and a fast-drying rate,” says Dan Saferstein, Sportsman Cap Network president.

Sportsman’s Headsweats is an official sponsor of the Ironman World Championship so these hats feature the latest in perspiration technology. And the supplier’s Sunblock headwear offers UV sun protection up to UPF 45+ with the hats treated with DuPont Teflon fabric protection.

Worn and Wonderful
New fabrications that “break in” a new cap to create the look of a well-worn favorite will drive headwear trends in 2007 as well. HTT Apparel is introducing a water-brushed twill that Bill Patterson, vice president at HTT, describes as “a luxurious finish, created by using high-impact water jets to brush the fabric instead of steel brushes.” In addition, the company is expanding its line of polo-wash twill, which uses an enzyme-wash that makes the fabric soft and creates a worn in look.

As for color caps are following apparel trends. Organic shades will top the heads of the most fashion conscious. Patterson ties these to an outdoorsy, sometimes military style direction: “Green and neutral colors are higher in demand, as it was usually navy and black. Camouflage and new ‘digital camo’ are fast becoming a trend in headwear as well.”

Saferstein adds, “Vibrant colors are popular, as well as retro styles with contrast stitching. For patterns, camos have gotten more colorful and are popular for both men and women.”

As a result, some suppliers are expanding their camo-styled options in 2007. Magic Headwear, for example, offers blue/back, grey/black and hot-pink/black combinations of the popular print. In addition, wilder digital-created camouflages provide even more flair to the line.

Decorative Detailing
The camo craze is, in part, driven by interest in military styling, but there are also other trendy ways of adding pizazz. “As far as new embellishment ideas, HTT offers every embellishment possible: embroidery, printing, liquid metals, sonic welds and lots of rubber in molded icons to small labeling details,” Patterson says.

Clients seeking an upscale, distinctive look may opt to go over the top with a “multi-media” cap. This style gets its name from the variety of decorative methods used to decorate the headwear. Embroidery could be paired with rhinestones, for a flirty feminine look, or a metal tag could be combined with sonic weld, giving a masculine impression.

Patriotic Flair
Stars and stripes will always be a decorative look that Americans embrace, particularly during political years or times of war.

Patterson stresses that it’s not just the patriotic decoration of the cap that makes it popular but its fabrication. “All HTT Headwear is being made from 100% cotton grown in the U.S.A., thus far, we have exported 200,000 tons of cotton grown here in the U.S.A. to our factory in China,” he says.

HTT Headwear makes its own fabrics and has its own dye facility. “This allows us to not rely on any outside source for fabrics or dyeing. Each HTT cap now has a label that states, ‘This cap made from cotton grown in the U.S.A.’ It is a little patriotism at no additional charge,” Patterson says.

Price Conscious
A continuing sales challenge in 2007 will be positioning the caps you present outside the commodity trap. Because so many caps are available, many from overseas manufacturers, pricing can’t help but be an issue. One way to avoid a black hole of price cutting is to upsell the cap itself.

Suppliers sensitive to the issue are offering specials that allow distributors to not only add value and distinction to the caps they present clients, but also offer budget-conscious pricing. “Customers are very price conscious,” says David Rucker, director of sales at Magic Headwear, but quickly adds that they still desire fashionable options. In response, Magic is offering 40 new styles in 2007 with quick turnaround on budget-friendly options in favorite fabrications of wool, acrylic and brushed cotton.

Likewise, HTT has zeroed in on stocking popular designs to fill demand. “The program consists of 25 of our best-selling headwear styles and having them pre-made in China, allowing us to embroider multiple locations with no set up charges, very low minimums, and fast turn, with a savings average of 45% less than domestic embroidered caps,” Patterson explains.

The one-stop shopping experience and diversity of product offerings is another value-added approach that headwear suppliers have put on the table. Sportsman Cap Network, for example, has added numerous brands, styles and colors to its inventory. It now has 27 brands, 180 styles and over 1,600 SKUs to choose from. The range of brands available provides something for every demographic. For example, brands such as Dri Duck provide cover for the rugged enthusiast. Kid Z Kap and Bella Baby top off the youngest of audiences and, for the hat-wearing ladies, there’s the Lady Caps brand.

Whatever demographic you’re targeting, there’s an option available within the promotional headwear industry that will put you heads above the competition.