Style guide
The Newsboy Cap
Also known as: baker boy cap, eight-piece cap, apple cap, gatsby cap
The newsboy cap — also called the baker boy, eight-piece, apple cap or Gatsby cap — is the fuller cousin of the scally. Eight wedge panels meet at a covered button on top of the crown, giving it a noticeably puffier shape, and the brim is stiffer and often snapped down. It was the cap of choice for the boys hawking newspapers on American street corners around 1900, which is where the name stuck.
History
The newsboy emerged in late-Victorian Britain as a more relaxed alternative to the bowler and was adopted en masse by working-class Americans by 1900 — newspaper boys, longshoremen, factory workers. By the 1920s it had jumped class lines: F. Scott Fitzgerald wore one, golfers wore one (it became the unofficial cap of the early professional tour), and Hollywood put it on every tough kid in every Depression-era picture. It returned in the 1970s on women through Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde, and again in the 2000s through Brad Pitt in Snatch and the Peaky Blinders cast.
How it's made
Eight panels, a covered button at the apex, a stiffened brim with an internal snap so the brim can be worn down or fastened up to the crown. Linings are usually cotton or satin. Tweed and herringbone are traditional; wool melton, corduroy and linen are common modern options.
How to wear it
Wear it slightly tilted, never centered and flat. The button gives the cap a clear front, so set it forward over the dominant eye. The newsboy is dressier than a scally — it works with a tweed jacket, a long overcoat, or a knit and trousers. It also reads well on women, which is why it's been a recurring womenswear staple since the 1970s.
Where to buy a newsboy 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.
Sterkowski
Poland
Polish hatmaker since 1926, handcrafting eight-piece caps in wool and tweed.
Kangol
United Kingdom
Iconic British headwear brand with an extensive scally and newsboy line.
Stetson
United States
An American heritage brand since 1865.
Weavers of Ireland
Ireland
Irish weaver offering a broad range of men's tweed flat and scally caps.
Harrington & Co. Hatters
United Kingdom
Modern hatter producing tailored eight-panel caps in classic British cloth.
Common questions
- Is a newsboy cap the same as a baker boy cap?
- Yes — same hat, different name. "Baker boy" is more common in the UK, "newsboy" in the US. Both refer to the eight-panel cap with a button on top.
- What's the difference between a newsboy cap and a scally cap?
- A newsboy is fuller and rounder, with a button on the crown and a stiffer, often snapped brim. A scally has a smoother, lower-profile crown and a soft brim sewn flush.
- What's an eight-piece cap?
- It's the technical name for the newsboy — eight wedge-shaped panels of cloth sewn together at a central point, finished with a covered button.