Snakeskin strapback hats are one of the most fashionable hats today. In fact, they are worn by famous entertainers and celebrities, such as Mac Miller, Wiz Khalifa, Flo-Rida, Brianna, Ghost Wridah, Brisco, Outlawz, and more. Different designs of strapback hats are customized into having snakeskin brims and straps. These can include caps from various sports teams like basketball and baseball.
However, when buying a custom snakeskin strapback hat, you need to be wary because there are those who sell replica snakeskin strapback hats, which are made of faux vinyl snakeskin printed material. And most of those are low quality and mass-produced in China.
Therefore, if you are looking into having your own custom python snakeskin strapback hat, you need to make sure that you are buying from a legit seller. This way, you’ll be able to ensure that the hat you are getting is customized using 100% genuine python snakeskin leather. If you are looking for authentic snakeskin strapback hats, you can check out Scyoc as they’ve got a lot to offer.
With the popularity of custom snakeskin strapback hats, especially among celebrities, have you ever wondered how it started or where the idea of customizing hats like this came from? Well, if you’re also curious, then you’re in the right place. Today, we’re are going to know more about the origins of snakeskin strapback hats.
How Snakeskin Strapback Hats Started
In the present time, you’ll be able to find many brands of snakeskin strapback hats. From expensive brands to cheap ones, which make it seem like every baseball cap has some form of a fake snakeskin on the brim. And because of this, it’s quite challenging to remember when was the last time that all strapback hats had regular wool or cotton brims. But the start of snakeskin strapback hats is not that long ago. It’s because its mainstream origins were in 2011.
But before that, let us know first about its inspiration. Back in the 80s and early 90s, strapback hats are part of the mainstream fashion. However, a snakeskin hat was very rare for many people during that time. And your only chance to spot one would be when you go to Chicago where the “buck fifty” became a trend. Buck fifty is the first kind of snakeskin baseball cap. It is called that way because it would cost you $150 to buy one back in those days. These hats are regular wool snapback hats of typically big teams and brands, such as Raiders, Bulls, and more, which are customized by hand using real python snakeskin.
What the designers do is that they would sew or glue the snakeskin directly to the top of the brim. After that, the snap would be replaced by a snakeskin strap that matches the brim. The button of the strap was often redone, as well. The outcome varied depending on who made the hat. It’s because there were hatmakers who were perfectionists, while there were some who were a bit messy, leaving rough edges and glue marks. Most hats were not totally deconstructed. That’s why they featured piping or a rope where the brim meets the crown to cover rough edges.
Back in those days, the only people who can usually afford Buck Fifty hats and wear them were drug dealers. They were always a small subgroup of streetwear. However, in 2011, custom snakeskin strapback hats became popular. The reason behind its sudden boom into the mainstream is because of Kanye West’s manager, Don C. It happened on the back of his handcrafted Buck Fifty hats that he made especially for his artist and friends, such as Jay-Z and Big Sean.
When Kanye and other prominent artists started wearing custom snakeskin strapback hats, their fans immediately wanted and “needed” the hats, too. That’s why Don C decided to design limited runs of the hats for a boutique in Chicago. The hats he customized retailed at $400 and sold out only in minutes because people cannot find any other place to buy those kinds of hats.
Most of the strapback hats customized by Don C are made using Indonesian python skin. The snakes are skinned, and their skins are sent to a tannery to be treated, just like how leather is treated. After that, the snakeskins can be dyed to any color to match the colorway of the hats.
Custom python snakeskin strapback hats are indeed very fashionable items that you can add to your style. No wonder famous celebrities and entertainers love wearing them ever since they became mainstream fashion accessories.