A good fitted baseball cap should feel like it was made just for you. You don’t want it awkwardly perched on top of your head or uncomfortably squeezing your temples. You want it to fit like a broken-in pair of gloves or boots.
The problem is, hats don’t come that way off the rack. Even if you pick the “right” size, you’re working with standardized measurements trying to fit a non-standard head. And most brands only size in quarter- or half-size increments, so the “right” size is usually just the closest size. Add in stiff materials and factory shaping, and most caps start out feeling a little off — a bit too tight or loose.
The good news: that slight mismatch is fixable. You can usually dial in a hat that’s just a little too big or too small.
Materials matter in how much play you’ll have: wool caps will stretch and conform more easily, while polyester blends tend to hold their shape. Either way, don’t rush the break-in process. The best results come from a mix of light intervention and regular wear. Over time, the hat will do what it was meant to do: mold itself to you.
In addition to getting a hat to fit nicely on your noggin, breaking it in also involves curving the bill (we’re no fans of the flat brim at AoM). The same easy-does-it principle for breaking in the crown applies to breaking in the bill too: while the methods above can accelerate the process, you don’t have to force it — a natural curve will come gradually just by working it with your hands over time.
With that in mind, use the guide above to fine-tune your cap. And if you want to go deeper, check out our full-length article on breaking in a fitted baseball hat.
This article was originally published on The Art of Manliness.
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