The Culture of Cool, Hats

The article, "Culture of Culture" tried to determine which entity drove fashion; corporation's designs or the consumer's interests. I believe it conceded that there is an equal give and take between the consumer driving what is "cool" and the producer making the "cool" fashion available. While I know very little about fashion, as my daily attire shows, I was able to apply what I read in this article to one thing I do like and that is hats. It is amazing to me how the culture of hats has changed even just within my life. When I was young I was largely impervious to the culture of hats; wearing hats that had an adjusted fit and sometimes even the occasional flexi-fit cap. As I entered high school I began to see that there were some hats that were cool to wear, and at that time it definitely was not cool to bend the bill. I believe this culture of cool hats was largely driven by rappers, like Lil Jon:

At this time hats such as this New Era 59/50 were only available in Major League Baseball fashions. The market then exploded including NBA, NFL, NHL, and eventually NCAA teams. I really liked wearing my hat this way and as the fashion started to fade away, I began to bend my bill. Now, rappers are wearing hats that have a "snap-back" like Tyga in this picture:

These hats were retro hats from the early 90's and the were mainly available at yard sales, and in thrift shops. Now the market has caught up and they are releasing snap-backs in every team. I am going to refrain from this new style and stick with my folded bill New Era hats. I will conclude in saying that I believe people drive the market and the producers catch up and cash in on production!