You have seen them at the boat ramp, the tailgate and every honky tonk on Broadway. A cap with a little cord running across the front, right where the bill meets the crown. That is a rope hat, and it is one of the oldest looks in caps coming back around.
What Makes It a Rope Hat
A rope hat is any cap with a decorative cord stitched or tacked across the front, sitting just above the bill. The rope does not hold anything up and it does not adjust anything. It is there because it looks good, and because it says you are wearing something with a little more thought behind it than a plain ball cap.
Rope caps were everywhere decades ago, on golf courses and fishing docks and in the back window of every truck. Like most good things, they went away for a while and came back. Now you will see them on hunters, fishermen and half the crowd at a country show.
Rope Hat vs Trucker Hat
A trucker has a foam or cotton front and a mesh back so your head can breathe on a hot day. A rope hat is about the cord, and it can be built any way underneath. Some are tall and structured. Ours, the Bottomland Badge Hat, is an unstructured five panel cap in camo, with a flat bill, the black rope across the front and a diamond S&S badge stitched in cream. If you want the trucker instead, the Stillhouse Hat is a black trucker with a mesh back and a moonshine still on the front.
Why We Made the Bottomland Badge
Some mornings do not need a story. You are in the stand before daylight, the woods are dripping, and the only thing moving is your breath. The Bottomland Badge is for those mornings. No scene, no words, just the badge on camo that every deer stand in Tennessee knows. It says everything it needs to say, which is nothing, right up until somebody at the gas station asks where you got it.
How to Wear a Rope Hat
- With a graphic tee. Keep the cap simple and let the shirt do the talking. A camo rope cap and a heavyweight western tee is a whole outfit.
- With a hoodie. Hood down, cap on, good to go for a cold morning or a late night.
- With a pearl snap. Dresses the cap up just enough for a night out.
- Flat bill or curved. Ours comes flat. Wear it that way, or work a gentle curve into it with your hands over a few days.
More Caps From the Same Bench
Every one of our caps is embroidered in Nashville and adjustable, one size fits most. The Bass Hat has the one that got away on an olive crown. The Nashville Sessions Hat carries the catfish from our Sessions tee. The Rattler Hat says Check Your Boots in red. See all our caps.
Taking Care of It
Spot clean with a damp cloth and air dry it on something that holds the crown, like a coffee can or a balled up towel. Never the washing machine and never the dryer. The rope will fray and the bill will warp, and then you are back to buying a new one.
For the nights a cap will not do, come see us at the Hat Bar in Marathon Village. Pick a cowboy hat off the wall, get it branded and the brim shaped while you wait, and walk out wearing it.
Everything we design ships from Nashville within 2 business days.
