The story behind Jay’s Caps

Style 001 is based on the classic 5 panel cap shape but has some notable differences including an outer headband panel on each side. This does not make it a 7 panel cap, in the cap world that’s actually a totally different style of cap. In fact there is a lot about this cap which makes it different from any other cap you might find and that’s because this is one of Jay’s Caps.

From my knowledge (25 year experience) all the other brands who sell caps go to a hat manufacturer and select from a number pre existing designs to then ’customise’, usually with a variety of fabrics and stitch methods, then make their own additions with their branding and logo.

On the surface all these caps may appear to be very different from one another but underneath they are all cut from one of a just hand full of cap templates. Customise is a word that most people think means something unique but it actually means to modify.

When explaining this I always use the example of a classic Levi’s denim jacket that has been ‘customised’ with embroidered badges; it might look unique, but underneath the badges it’s exactly the same Levi’s jacket as all the others.

I have always tried to be different when it comes to the caps I wear and design.

A long time ago I found out why all the buttons on top of every cap were all the same size. It’s because the machine that stamps out the aluminium or plastic that the cloth gets wrapped around only has one size setting. It took a lot of financial persuasion to get the manufacturer I was using to create a new button size and for a long while my caps were the only ones with this unique feature. That was until the manufacturers offered this element of customisation to their other clients and now it’s quite common.

Eventually every new element of design I made on my caps entered into the mainstream and soon the things that set my original caps aside seemed to be everywhere. So, after 15 years running my own hugely successful cap brand and having a lot of fun along the way, I sold up and now that company makes caps just like everyone else.

You can’t keep a good thing down for long and after a while I designed myself a new cap and took it to a trusted manufacturer who I’ve worked with for many years and made a small batch.

Unintentionally I started all over again, right from the beginning and handed these caps out to friends and family who were more than happy to be once again wearing one of Jay’s caps.

Whilst I was excited to share to a wider audience, the time was not right to take this to the open market; there was a global pandemic and I was content just keeping it low key and refining the product.

Fast forward another 2 years and here we are. With my wife Mel still patiently by my side and my two teenage boys who have become my harshest but most supportive cap critics, I’m ready to share what I believe to be the best cap out there.

Cap style 001 comes in 2 variations, with the classic mesh back or all cloth. It’s a simple but masterfully elegant and well fitting cap that I’m proud to put my name to, after all, this is one of Jay’s Caps.