Mailbag: Molding a Wool 59Fifty Hat

Reader Chris writes:

I am an avid purchaser of hats.  Usually just a few different teams (primarily the Atlanta Braves).  I recently purchased my first two 59/50 hats.   One is wool and one is poly.  I've read your site on the suggestions of how to mold/shape them my head and more to my liking.  The poly doesn't seem overly complicated with the hairdryer technique and I will try that asap.  However, the wool kind of confuses me.  I've seen tons of suggestions and methods.  The most one that seems the most effective I have read about is soaking it in warm water then putting it on your head.    My question is, do you put the whole hat into the warm water?   Will this hurt the logo?   

Thanks for the question, Chris!  You've anticipated the major line of my suggestions in your e-mail.  There are, as you mention, a ton of suggestions on how to shape wool 5950 hats.  They range from the fairly loony - wearing your hat in the shower, to the more subtle - wear it on a hot day.  Both of these suggestions come from somewhere, however, the desire to shrink the excess materials around the hat.

My suggestion is like the one Chris mentions - shape the wool hats with warm water.  Unlike our earlier suggestions about the new polyester caps (you can check on the MLB 5950s - if the underbill is grey you have an older wool cap and if it is black you have one of the newer polyester caps).  With the polyester techniques, I've mainly focused on shaping the wire mesh in the front of the cap that keeps it firm.  

The warm water sounds fairly simple, but there are some tricks to it.  Turn your cap over for a moment.  Do you see the light on the other side poking through those nice little ventilation holes?  Here is what I suggest doing.  First, take some water and put it on the stove and make it warm.  It is incredibly important that you don't bring the water to a boil or make it too hot - you don't want to burn your head.  Make the water warm, give it a moment to cool off, and hold the hat above a clean sink.  Slowly pour the water in a circle through those little ventalation holes.  It is important that you avoid letting the hat touch the logo in the front or the MLB logo in the back so that you avoid allowing the colors to run.  

Once you've got the hat warm and wet, put it on your head and hold it close to your dome.  Though your girlfriend won't like you very much for the next few minutes - you'll smell like a wet dog - she'll eventually like the fat that your hat looks far less goofy. 

Hope this helps.  Feel free to e-mail us with more questions! 

Change Up 59Fifty

What would happen if you had a hat with velcro on the logo - so you could change it depending on your mood? A natural disaster would happen, that's what would happen. 

An interesting idea appears to be poorly executed.  I get the idea of the "fashion" caps, but I am typically not a fan of fashion caps in these weird colors.  I get camo, the American flag logo, all black, or throwback - but changing up the colors just for the heck of it is kind of confusing to me.  Changing the logos to go with it?  Recipe for epic sports fashion disaster.  

I also understand why New Era wouldn't want to do something like this for on the field alternate caps - because doing so would probably result in fewer cap sales.  Count on this trend to die a speedy death.  

Top Ten MLB Jerseys for 2009

1. Milwaukee Brewers - For as much as this pains me to say this as a Cubs fan - the Brewers have sick uniforms, a cool team name and a great cap design.  As a beer drinker, the solid blue cap with the grain below it is pretty freakin' awesome and its kind of a wonder you don't see more people outside of the midwest wearing it.  This blue jersey has a cool color scheme and is less offensive than the stupid glove logo they wore in the 1980s (alright Brewers fans, lemme have it, I know you love that crappy design). 

2. Boston Red Sox Alternate - Boston did a really nice job with the redesign of their new alternate jerseys.  They aren't overwhelming and jerseys get extra points for having a city name instead of the team name  (typically their away jerseys). 

3. Chicago Cubs - This jersey is much cooler when customized.  The simple grey is a bit drab initially, but with a red number on the front and back - it looks pretty cool.  It also offers a contrast to all those white pinstripe jerseys you see Cubs fans wearing.  

4. Pittsburgh Pirates - I'm a big fan of the classic look on current jerseys and Pittsburgh's road uniform does this pretty darn well. 

5. Minnesota Twins - The Twins will be wearing this uni to commemorate their last season in the 'dome.  I think the powder blue jersey actually wears better - but this is still a sweet throwback.  

6. Kansas City Royals - This picture makes this Royals jersey look like a dress, but this is a potentially pretty cool jersey.  A number of teams have color schemes of blue and white - like the Royals or Dodgers.  The Dodgers uniforms look cool on baseball players, but I've always thought they look a little drab on fans. 

7. Baltimore Orioles - Baltimore has added the flag of the state of Maryland to their sleeve this year, which I think is a really cool touch. Since I think most of their hats are pretty lame, I would go with the jersey (exception to the old bird designs of the 1960s).

8. Atlanta Braves - I'm really tired of Atlanta's "blacked out" look with their dark navy caps.  Make a choice people, is it navy or black.  Let's add a bit of spice to our lives with a solid red jersey here. 

9. Philadelphia Phillies - This classic looking jersey is screaming up my list of favorite jerseys.   Like the Giants jersey below, I love the fact that they went with a classic cream colored alternate than just another white design.  This jersey looks sweet. 

10. San Francisco Giants - Typically, I'd mock orange and black as Halloween colors.  Obviously, they are - and at first I thought this jersey was pretty lame.  Recently, however, I've come around. As you'll see in this top-ten list, I'm not a huge fan of solid white jerseys - so the off-white color here makes the jersey look more classic.  

So what do you think?  Did we mess up?  What are your top ten favorite jerseys?  E-mail us at welldressedsportsfan (at) gmail.com

Reviewing the 2009 NFL Draft Hats

The NFL Draft is in two weeks, but each team has already released their draft hat - the hat the selected players put on when they are photographed with their new teams jersey.  Some of these hats are fantastic and others . . . well, let's just say we've got some duds in there.  You can pick up your team's hat here.

Atlanta Falcons - At first, I was a pretty big fan of this hat.  I've cooled on it a little, only because it is a bit too shiny to wear everyday - but this hat would go well with a black Falcons jersey - unless it is Michael Vick.  

Seattle Seahawks - This hat looks like a kindergartner or one of John McCain's staffers threw up all over it.  I guess this hat is supposed to go with Seattle's new alternate jersey, but it mainly gives me a headache.  Wow.  

San Diego Chargers - I really like the old school powder blue Chargers jersey and I'm pumped they've brought the look back. This hat is pretty cool, but if you're going with a throwback design, you might as well go with a throwback looking "relaxed fit" hat instead of a shiny techie looking hat like this.  As you've seen with Seattle, however, you could make a far worse choice. 

Minnesota Vikings - Again, I like to wear hats that you can wear everyday.  That's why the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox hats are so popular - subtle navy with a white or red accent. Purple and yellow with stripes, on the other hand?  Not so subtle. I think most of these hats could be worn with a jersey - this one would go well with the Vikings white away jersey - but wouldn't look so great for everyday use. 

 Houston Texans - This hat is pretty similar to the Atlanta Falcons hat.  Pretty good color scheme, not too overwhelming.  

Carolina Panthers - The Carolina Panthers logo is just so painfully 1990s.  The neon teal color scheme is not unlike the Jacksonville Jaguars - which entered the league at the same time.  And lest we forget, the 1990s also witnessed the expansion of the Florida Panthers hockey team - so that decade couldn't even pick an original team name.  And color scheme?  Remember the San Jose Sharks?  If you're a Panthers hat, go with a black jersey and hat.  

Finally! MLB Season is here! Gear up for 2009.

Opening Week.  There is nothing quite like it in sports.  Optimism reigns and everyone is confident that their team will be this season's cinderella story.  MLB.com is offering a few deals this week on new gear for this spring.  

A few thoughts on the new gear.  

This shirt is fairly amusing (though ringer shirts are kind of, "I was in high school in 1999.") - but did you really have to call it the "silver fox"?  Really?!  My Dad is a silver fox, I don't want my shirt to be one too.  

I'm a big fan of the new Majestic MLB Authentic Collection.  The quality of the stuff Majestic has been making has improved by leaps and bounds over the past few years.  They used to be Fila - now they are Under Armour.  

Check out jackets like this if you call yourself a hipster. But you probably don't call yourself a hipster.  

You can save $20 by picking up a vintage shirt from a used clothing store instead of this.  That said, this is pretty damn cool. 

Shiny+purple = lame.

The White Sox are planning to release a new hat as a tribute to President Obama.

Finally, it is probably cold this week where you are.  Grab one of these before going to your first chilly outdoor game.  

Happy baseball season everyone!  Have fun!