I'd say wearing backwards baseball caps goes from the late 80s to the early '00s, but especially from like 1991-1998.

Peaked around 1994. I'd say 1991-96, with some people doing it as far as the early '00s.

Today it's semi cheesy and "old school" but not quite laughable. Will be by 2010 though.

Peaked around 1994. I'd say 1991-96, with some people doing it as far as the early '00s.

Today it's semi cheesy and "old school" but not quite laughable. Will be by 2010 though.


Yeah.  I seem some people wear them, they probably wouldn't get laughed at for it, but they certainly wouldn't get props either.  It's what I'd call a "passed, but not quite passe" fad.  Kinda like saying "That's the bomb".

In about 1989 the Guide uniform was redesigned here in the UK by Jeff Banks.  He introduced baseball caps as an optional part of the uniform and some of the publicity shots featured girls wearing the caps backwards or sideways so it was enough of a trend by then for it to be acceptable in main stream stuff.

lol, yes the infamous backwards baseball cap semed to have taken the younger generation by storm, everybody was doing it! i remember it peaking in about 1991, although my memory isn't too great, so i may be wrong

1993 - 1996

mid 80s

I remember back in 1992 when there was a huge debate in high school about whether or not to allow caps in school. The administration claimed that the tilt of the hat could transmit gang signs. The students biggest argument was that their hair was specifically cut for the hat and they would look stupid. Never the less they were banned in school.

To each, his own...but I thought the backwards cap look was one of the silliest developments in modern fashion. Then again, I was always more "white bread" than many of my contemporaries.  :)

I've been wearing a baseball cap backwards a lot in the past week. Am I being anachronistic?  ???

mid 80s


Maybe where you lived.  It wasn't widespread until the 1990s.

Maybe where you lived.  It wasn't widespread until the 1990s.


True the suburbs don't really get into anything until it's practically old!  ;)

True the suburbs don't really get into anything until it's practically old!  ;)


;D  Dumb white people!

It's funny, but if you wore a baseball cap back before say maybe 1984, you would have been looked upon as the village idiot or at least extremely juvenile. And that's whether you wore them frontward or backwards.

I still see a lot of people wearing them backwards.  Not so much teenagers, but 20 somethings that grew up in the 90s.  The style was around in the 80s though...late 80s specifically.  I don't see it so much as a "cool fashion fad" today as it was in 1991, but more say like something for comfort, say if you are playing a game of basketball or something.  Or just out doing grocery shopping and you tilt it backwards, for comfort.  Not in the same "I'm so cool and bad ass" style of 1991.  Today I see it as more a comfort thing, or just something to do with your baseball cap...not as a rebellious cool thing to do like it once was.

Thank god this trend is passing .... except now it is the suburban white boy with it turned off to the side in the so called locked position ... they look exactly like the urban rapper except guess what ... your white and your daddy works downtown making six fiugures and drives a Beemer .... get with it.  Especially ticks me off to see them driving around in their mom and dad's SUV looking like this.  Eeeewwww ... scary white rapper in an SUV.

Again, I don't see it as a "cool" or "bad ass" thing to do like it once was.  Now I see it as more of a comfort thing.  I don't think it's so horrible to wear your baseball cap backwards, unless you have the attitude that it's some kind of hip fashion like it once was. 

It's the same way that a t-shirt, designer jeans (like Jordache), and designer sneakers (like Nike) were a cool fashion in the early 80s, but that fashion still survives today.  People don't even think about it anymore like they did back in the early 80s.  Not so much as a cool thing to do, but just a comfort or neutral thing to do. 

Again, I don't see it as a "cool" or "bad ass" thing to do like it once was.  Now I see it as more of a comfort thing.  I don't think it's so horrible to wear your baseball cap backwards, unless you have the attitude that it's some kind of hip fashion like it once was. 

It's the same way that a t-shirt, designer jeans (like Jordache), and designer sneakers (like Nike) were a cool fashion in the early 80s, but that fashion still survives today.  People don't even think about it anymore like they did back in the early 80s.  Not so much as a cool thing to do, but just a comfort or neutral thing to do. 


Do you still notice young people wearing flannel?  I do sometimes, but it's not everywhere like it was even in 2000. It's certainly not a fashion statement, except maybe within some circles.