Whether it’s protecting your skin, covering up a bad hair day, or rounding out an outfit, hats serve a lot of purposes. Whether it’s for practicality, style, or convenience, the right one can be just as much a necessity as it is an accessory.
But not everyone is looking for the same thing in their headwear. When you’re trying to reach a specific market, picking the right custom hat can help ensure your apparel gets worn and shows off your brand in the process.
While picking your hat option doesn’t have to be overly complicated, there are enough factors at play that you should still think it through carefully before printing. Here’s what to look for when shopping for custom headwear and how to choose the option that suits your brand best.
Why Custom Hats Are a Must-Have
Whether you’re using them as trade show giveaway items, selling them, wearing them, or giving them out as corporate gifts, custom hats can be an invaluable part of your branding efforts — and your wardrobe. No matter what you plan to use them for, here are some of the benefits custom hats can bring.
- Distinctive Branding: Custom hats are perfect canvases for showing off your company logo because they can be worn anywhere, displaying your brand indoors and outdoors. Whether they’re given away or deployed as employee apparel, they convey a sense of professionalism and legitimacy.
- Personalization Capabilities: Whether you want bold color combinations, tastefully subtle designs, or dynamic logo placement, custom hats offer a range of personalization possibilities.
- Versatile Uses: Custom hats make great gifts, event keepsakes, team gear, product inventory, or new hire swag.
- Memorable Gifts: Sure, you could give a gift card — but you could also give a gift they’ll remember (and wear) for years to come. Custom apparel like hats make for surprising, thoughtful gifts.
- Impactful Company Swag: To boost morale and show your team they’re seen and valued, you can give your employees hats customized with their names or roles, which they can in turn wear outside the office to show off your brand.
Top Personalized Hat Styles to Consider
Not sure where to start on your search for the best custom hat? From trucker hats to visors, you’ve got plenty of options to consider. Here are some of the most popular hat options and some key features to think about.
Beanies
A great choice for places where the temperature drops, custom beanies offer warmth and boast style. Made from materials like wool, cotton, or synthetic blends, these hats are ideal for casual aesthetics and may not be right for every brand.
Baseball Hats
These are classic options that can suit just about any market. With fitting options like adjustable straps, snapbacks, Velcro, or buckles, custom baseball hats are a versatile choice that can suit athletic and casual wear.
Big Accessories 5 Panel Cotton Baseball Cap
Trucker Hats
With their foam front panels, breathable mesh backs, high crown, and adjustable snapback closures, custom trucker hats are the perfect lightweight option for brands that pair well with a laid-back (or throwback) style. As an added bonus, the foam panels offer a bold surface for your custom designs.
Nike Snapback Mesh Trucker Cap
Dad Hats
For markets that prefer a more relaxed aesthetic, custom dad hats sport a vintage feel with their soft, unstructured panels, low crown, and pre-curved brims. This understated style works best with subtle embroidery or small logos.
Adam's Optimum Low-Profile Cotton Baseball Cap
Rope Hats
Structurally, this type of hat can take on just about any form, from baseball to trucker. But custom rope hats add a decorative twist with a corded “rope” detail running across the base of the crown. This retro-inspired element matches bold branding for those who want a unique look.
Fitted Hats
This type of hat offers a more polished, tailored appearance with no adjustable closures. Keep in mind that custom fitted hats are available in specific sizes only, making accurate sizing crucial, and meaning that this isn’t ideal for those looking for giveaway options or simple one-size-fits-all apparel.
Under Armour Blitzing Curved Cap
Visors
In some ways this style is kind of an anti-hat, featuring an open-top design and a brim for sun protection. Lightweight and functional, custom visors are ideal for markets interested in sports or for promoting outdoor events. However, keep in mind that customization opportunities for this style are a little limited.
Bucket Hats
For a casual, streetwear-inspired retro look, custom bucket hats are a trendy choice. Their soft, unstructured design with a wide, downward-sloping 360-degree brim allows for lots of customization opportunities.
Flat Bill Hats
Custom flat bill hats are distinguished by their (you guessed it) flat brims, making them a solid option for sports fans and those with more refined headwear style tastes. These hats cater to bold, sharp designs that appeal to trend-conscious audiences.
Flexfit Pro-Performance Flat Bill Hat
Safety Hats
Designed with workplace protection in mind, custom safety hats can also be customized with company logos or safety messages. It probably goes without saying that this class of hats is limited to those whose audience needs them for work.
Big Accessories Hi-Vis Baseball Cap
Popular Hat Brands For Customization
Just about every major apparel brand offers custom headwear options. As you might imagine, custom hat quality, price, materials, and style options can vary widely from one to the other. Whether you’re looking for premium athleticwear or affordably casual options, you can probably find what you need from one of these top brands.
- Richardson: Known for their high-quality craftsmanship and versatility, Richardson specializes in custom hats for sports teams, outdoor enthusiasts, and lifestyle brands.
- Nike: A brand that needs no introduction, Nike boasts sleek, performance-driven custom hats. From lightweight visors to structured caps, their premium hats come in just about every structure and fabric type you can imagine.
- New Era: Renowned for their iconic fitted caps, New Era is the official supplier for Major League Baseball and a fan favorite for casualwear. Their premium-quality hats are perfect for bold, intentionally styled custom designs.
- Adidas: custom Adidas hats offer sporty aesthetics with comfort and performance. Known for their clean, minimalist designs and breathable materials, their hats appeal to activewear enthusiasts.
- Carhartt: Built for durability and functionality, Carhartt hats are ideal for workwear and rugged outdoor branding.
- Under Armour: Specializing in performance gear, Under Armour custom hats are designed with moisture-wicking materials and athletic-focused features.
How To Choose The Right Custom Embroidered Hat
While there is no universal right answer to the question of which custom hat style is best, there are a few things you should think through that’ll help you pick the best one for your brand.
- Determine the Purpose: Start with the purpose of the custom hat. Is this hat for promotional branding, team uniforms, giveaways, or personal use? The purpose will help you narrow your choices down by giving you insights into which styles may be best suited for those needs.
- Consider Your Audience: Your purpose should lead you to your audience. Younger, style-minded people may prefer flat bill hats or bucket hats, while older or more casual groups might lean toward dad hats or trucker hats.
- Pick a Style: As outlined in the section above, there are tons of hat styles out there that cater to many different use cases. Choose one that aligns with your brand, audience, and goals — you can deal with specific characteristics after.
- Weigh Brand vs. Budget: Is a premium brand like Nike or Adidas important for reflecting your brand’s quality? Or, are you more price-sensitive and willing to sacrifice name recognition to save on costs? This should help you cut down on your options since it’ll have big impacts on your per-unit pricing.
- Look Into Materials: Materials impact comfort and functionality, which harkens back to your audience and purpose. Cotton and blends are lightweight and breathable, while wool is warmer for cold-weather styles like beanies. Meanwhile, performance fabrics with moisture-wicking or UV-protection features work well for activewear or outdoor use.
- Apply Branding: Some hat options will have more limited color choices or logo placement possibilities than others. Remember, branding is more than just your logo. Apply your custom designs to your hats, but also look for colors and fonts that align with your broader brand style book.
Simplifying Custom Hats From Design to Delivery
At RushOrderTees, we simplify the process of creating the best custom embroidered hats and custom printed hats by offering a massive array of hat styles across the biggest apparel brands, a convenient design platform that shows you your mockup in real time, and an array of shipping options that can meet just about any deadline.
Just start with a hat style or brand, browse product options that suit your budget and printing volume needs, pick a color, and then head to our design studio to see what your product will look like. Upload your design and make edits to size and placement as needed, or start a new design from scratch.
Once you’ve got your design finalized, just select a quantity and shipping timeline and your custom hats will be where you want them when you need them.
The Right Custom Apparel for Your Needs
There’s a lot to consider when picking the perfect hat for a custom design, but it’s well worth taking the time to decide on the right style, brand, and design for your audience. The perfect hat should communicate your branding effectively while helping you meet your product or marketing goals and staying within budget.
Looking for more than just a hat? Whether you want items to sell, to give away, or for publicizing an event, RushOrderTees has the custom apparel and promotional items you need to market your company, drive revenue, or build employee morale.
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