A little off the top

BAD HAIRCUT, MAYBE. Or it could have been a downpour of rain, sleet, snow or a combination of the three. Possibly the snooze button was pressed one (or two, or three) too many times and there was no opportunity to get ready for work. Whatever the reason, most people have, at some point, been thankful for that often-neglected hat. Everyone has one: The hat sitting in the closet above the sad-puppy sweater mom gave on the last birthday (still with a price tag on it) and the acid-wash jeans that have been hiding since ‘88 (they might come back in style). Sooner or later, everyone finds a use for it.

And, yes, probably because of a bad haircut.

Still, keeping the head covered shouldn’t just be a quick fix. Headwear has gone high-fashion. From Milan to Manhattan, people can be seen wearing hats from the common baseball cap to high-quality berets and bowlers. If the trucker cap was capable of becoming popular, again, against all logic, then the market must surely have some substance. It’s high time distributors stop relying on conventional promotions and, bad puns aside, get ahead of the game.

“Today’s headwear is far more advanced than most customers are aware,” said David Fishman, director of sales for Fersten Worldwide, Champlain, N.Y. “From specialized moisture-wicking fabrics to the use of multiple fabrics on the same cap, the styling and availability of such a wide variety is sometimes overlooked when considering something different for customers who have bought headwear as a promotional piece before.”

Modern fabric technologies combined with improved manufacturing procedures allow for durable, performance-ready items. Today’s fashion headwear is made to withstand the elements, and the common baseball cap is built to the same specifications as those used in the major leagues, without all the herbal enhancement fuss.