Style guide
The Flat Cap
Also known as: bunnet, doffer, dai cap, paddy cap
"Flat cap" is the umbrella term for the soft, short-brimmed wool or tweed cap that has been the working man's hat across Britain and Ireland for nearly five hundred years. Underneath it sit the scally, the ivy, the driver and the newsboy — all variations on the same idea.
History
The flat cap's modern history begins with the 1571 Cappers Act, an English law requiring every commoner over six years old to wear a wool cap on Sundays. The law was meant to prop up the wool trade; the side effect was three centuries of flat-capped working men. By the Industrial Revolution it was inseparable from factory and dock work across the British Isles, and Irish and Scottish migration carried it to North America and Australia, where each region developed its own sub-style.
How it's made
A flat cap is built from one or more wool/tweed panels stitched into a low, rounded crown with a short brim sewn flush to the front. The classic British version uses one or two large panels for a flat, low silhouette; the eight-panel scally and newsboy variants use wedges that meet at the crown.
How to wear it
Sit it level on the head, brim just above the brows. The flat cap is the most quietly classic of the family — it works with anything from a Barbour jacket to a tweed three-piece, and rarely looks costume-y unless you over-coordinate it with the rest of your outfit.
Where to buy a flat cap
Makers from our directory we'd send you to first for this style.
Hanna Hats of Donegal
Ireland
Family-run Donegal workshop hand-finishing tweed scally caps since 1924.
Lock & Co. Hatters
United Kingdom
St. James's hatter since 1676, with finely tailored eight-piece caps.
House of Bruar
United Kingdom
Scottish country store with a deep range of tweed caps from top makers.
Weavers of Ireland
Ireland
Irish weaver offering a broad range of men's tweed flat and scally caps.
Glen Appin of Scotland
United Kingdom
Scottish heritage brand producing tweed and tartan caps and accessories.
Stetson
United States
An American heritage brand since 1865.
Common questions
- Is a flat cap the same as a scally cap?
- A scally is a type of flat cap. "Flat cap" is the broad family; "scally" is the specific eight-panel sub-style associated with Ireland and the north of England.
- What material is best for a flat cap?
- For autumn and winter, wool tweed — Donegal or Harris Tweed if you want the classics. For spring and summer, linen or lightweight cotton. Both shed light rain reasonably well.