Do as Your Father (and Gigi Hadid) Says: Wear a Dad Hat

Gigi Hadid strolling through New York in her totes caj dad cap; Image: Ignat/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

The dweeb-chic phenomenon began with unwitting, middle-aged normcore icons like Jerry Seinfeld, Larry David and even Barack Obama (the ultimate cool dad), who thought they were donning mere baseball caps. Like mom jeans, however, there’s more to these once parentally-restricted items than meets the eye. For dads, these often scuffed-up, alma mater, random fundraising event or sports team-toting toppers serve a purely utilitarian purpose — to keep the sun out of their eyes as they tee off or coach a Little League game.

44th President of the United States Barack Obama slaying the athleisure trend; Image: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images

Transposed onto the heads of models off duty and R&B stars (Gigi Hadid, Rihanna) and emblazoned with the logos of up-and-coming brands or pop culture references — or, better yet, nothing at all — these typically monochrome (often suede) old-school caps have replaced beanies and snapbacks as the devil-may-care accessory du jour. Hailey Baldwin, Kylie and Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and tons of other fashion folk have also cosigned the athleisure-driven trend.

 

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A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on Jul 22, 2016 at 3:35pm PDT

Still don’t believe us? Check out this paternally-inspired look on the haute couture runway of Vetements, arbiter of all that is fashionable:

Dad hats exude that elusive “look at me, but don’t look at me” vibe; Image: Imaxtree

Suddenly dying for a dorky, dad-esque cap? We understand. Say goodbye to bad hair days and harsh UV rays and hello to hoodies, vintage jeans, sneaks and your new It cap. Note: Dad hats also look great paired with slip dresses, jumpsuits, oversized bombers and, well, pretty much anything, as is their nature. You probably already own some form of dad-worthy topper, but to make things easier, we’ve rounded up the chicest iterations of the trend in the slideshow below.