Once upon a time, the most valuable sartorial item a man could possess came in the shape of formal head-wear. For an array of reasons, including the post-1960s rise of "casual" clothes, no longer are quality hats considered essential adornments for the would-be dapper gent. Indeed, the one exception to the general decline in popularity of titfers in recent years has been the rise-to-prominence of the baseball cap - a signifier of a general trend in the West for adult males to dress up as athletes even whilst pursuing slothful and slovenly lifestyles.

   It is easy to speculate that, for the most part, as a society we've passed the point of no-return for a formal head-wear renaissance; styles such as bowler and top-hats are now so archaic that they are exclusively worn by attention-seekers at weddings and nowhere else. Trilbys are now stained by their association with Pete Doherty and his ilk; sporting such a hat is an aesthetic declaration of wanting to conform to a lifestyle of illicit drugs and pretentious poetry writing. Neither of which are cool.

   Yet, there is, thankfully, a solution which we modern gents can turn to when looking for items to adorn our heads - the humble flat-cap.



   Having survived their association with East 17 and a breed of turn-of-the-century man who assumed sporting said item backwards would grant them some Samuel L. Jackson cool (spoiler: it didn't), the flat-cap is a go-to, unpretentious choice of head-wear which can be used in conjunction with a number of looks.

  Whilst every man should possess a number of flat-caps (for use in both formal and casual occasions), an ideal starting place to begin researching one's collection comes in the form of Bradford-based retailer Greenwoods . As a traditional menswear store, the brand specialise in smart and stylish fashion for the snappy dressers all at beyond reasonable prices. Whilst it would be possible to write extensively about their range of suits, shirts and ties, one of the primary reasons I return to the shop over and over is their consistently excellent collection  of hats and caps (many of which are, as of the time of writing, on sale with a price reduction of 70%).




   To illustrate today's post, I've teamed an aforementioned Greenwoods hat with a loosely golf-themed ensemble. Although I find the sport tedious to watch, and for that matter play, I think it would be contrarian in the extreme not to admit that the sport inspires greater fashion than any of its rivals. I do also acknowledge, at this point of the post, that it is highly contradictory of me to bemoan the rise of sports-casual fashion in modern style trends whilst indulging in such looks occasionally myself. What can I say? I'm complex. Like Hamlet.

   Perhaps it would be more appropriate to question the nature of golf itself - is it even a sport? Or just a banal hobby? I'd feel happier appropriating their style if it were the latter. Let's just admit that golfers dress better than baseball players and aspire to look, if not play, like them.