Peaky Blinders Caps

A Working Man’s Cap

We trace the origins of the newsboy cap to the days of the industrial revolution, with its origins in England, Ireland, and later continental Europe. This woolen or tweed cap is made of a short brim and a large disc made of eight panels of fabric joined at the top by a button, making a soft and drooping disc. It quickly became popular with the working class, as it was made of rugged materials that could withstand a tough, labor-intensive life, and for its roomy disc that could allow for storage of small items, in an era where pocketed trousers are not yet the norm.

Our best Peaky Blinders Caps

#1: The Hatteras Herringbone Cap

The Hatteras Herringbone Cap is a fall & winter newsboy cap made of 100% virgin wool, offered in a classic herringbone pattern for a genuine, vintage effect. The Hatteras Herringbone Cap is naturally water resistant, allowing you to wear it under a light to moderate rain. It features a 9 ½” (24 cm) 8-panel crown and a 2 ⅜” (6 cm) brim for increased UV protection.

#2: The Hatteras Donegal Cap 

The Hatteras Donegal Cap is a fall & winter newsboy cap made of a 100% virgin wool Donegal Tweed, offered in a classic chenille salt & paper pattern for a genuine, vintage effect. The Hatteras Donegal Cap is naturally water resistant, allowing you to wear it under a light to moderate rain. It features a 9 ½” (24 cm) 8-panel crown and a 2 ⅜” (6 cm) brim for increased UV protection.

#3: The Gatsby Harris Tweed 201 Cap

The Gatsby Harris Tweed 201 cap from the Belgian hat manufacturer City Sport is a fall & winter Gatsby cap, a variation on the newsboy cap, sometimes called irish cap. It features the same round, 8-panel crown, however it features a smaller radius, giving it a more streamlined look. The Gatsby Harris Tweed 201 cap also features an added depth headband in the back, to ensure a comfortable fit.

#4: The Gatsby Chevron 201 Cap

The Gatsby Chevron cap from the belgian hat manufacturer City Sport is a fall & winter Gatsby cap, a variation on the newsboy cap, or irish cap. It features the same round, 8-panel crown, however it features a smaller radius, giving it a more streamlined look. The Gatsby Chevron also features an added depth headband in the back, to ensure a comfortable fit.

#5: The Kingston KG Cap

Perfect for both formal and casual wear, the Kingston KG cap by Göttmann will bring a touch of vintage class to any outfit. Its added Depth Headband will assure you an exquisite comfort. It even features retractable earmuffs to keep you warm in the winter! Ideal for wide, round or square faces, this fall and winter newsboy cap is ideal for those who seek a practical, casual and classic hat.

A Street Urchin’s Cap : From Oliver Twist to the Newsboys

The cap made popular by Tommy Shelby, portrayed on screen by Irish actor Cillian Murphy, has long been known in English as the Irish cap or the newsboy cap, or casquette Gavroche in French.

These nicknames bring us back to a harsher time, one where child labor was rampant in industrialized nations, one where factories paid very little for small children to perform exceedingly hazardous and tiring work. Monuments of 19th century literature such as Charles Dickens and Victor Hugo championed the plight of the masses, and denounced the cruelty and callousness of child labor and poverty. Dickens, through the eyes of Oliver Twist, and Hugo through Les misérables’ Gavroche, both young boys who went through the harsh life of a poor child in 19th century Europe and were depicted on stage and on the silver screen wearing Peaky Blinders style caps. 

There is also the case of the famous newsboys, young kids who would sometimes savagely fight for the busiest street corners where they would shout out the news headlines, attracting customers and selling their stockpile of issues for mere pennies. From these origins come the French casquette Gavroche, or “Gavroche cap”, and the newsboy cap names. You may also come across Gatsby caps, which feature smaller, more compact discs, a fashion that was popular in the 1920s, when F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Peaky Blinders Caps at the Henri Henri Hat Store

For decades, the Henri Henri hat store has curated a premium selection of flat caps and newsboy caps from the best weavers and hatmakers in Europe. The Gatsby Chevron Cap, from Belgian manufacturer City Sport, is made of Donegal Tweed, woven in the north of Ireland. Stetson’s Hatteras Silk Newsboy Cap, with its wider disc, is more reminiscent of Tommy Shelby’s cap. You can find Peaky Blinders style newsboy caps, Gatsby caps and Irish caps on the online Henri Herni hat store with fast shipping across Canada and the United States!