Perspectives and Thoughts from BetterCrown - an Independent Hat Store
Curated and written by BetterCrown's Team
If you're concerned about street fashion or Gym fashion recently, then you must know '47 CLEAN UP, with a soft brim and a sense of distress. Such a hat might be worn by your favorite celebrity, or might be on people's heads who pass by the coffee store corners. It's from '47 Brand - '47 CLEAN UP features a relaxed fit, a curved visor, and an adjustable strap.
As a global online hat store, for us, BetterCrown, it's an everyday task to handle various types of hats. We sell structured snapback caps and vintage trucker caps. However, there is a brand that we cannot help focusing on - '47 Brand. '47 Brand is not the fanciest or most expensive one, but after wearing its hats, it's too comfortable to take them off.
Today, we, BetterCrown, will talk about this brand as a hat store from its original, why it became trendy, and what it means for us who sell or make hats.
Originated from A Souvenir Cart
In 1947, 12-year-old twins from Italy, Arthur and Henry D'Angelo, immigrated to America. They set up a small souvenir cart outside Fenway Park in Boston to sell souvenirs. At that time, they sold pennants and various ball souvenirs. Their goal was very simple: Boston Red Sox fans could take one souvenir from a ball game to keep their memories.
Who could have thought? Such a souvenir cart outside Fenway Park has developed into a global brand with annual revenue of over 400 million dollars, and its products cover all North American mainstream sports leagues from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, WNBA, MLS, NCAA, to NASCAR.
The story of '47 Brand tells us a simple truth: a great brand always starts from a very simple point. It doesn't need an ambitious business plan or a huge investment; it's a very common demand: fans want to buy something from home after games, outside Fenway Park.
How Dad Caps Came to Be?
If you ask about the most iconic products of '47 Brand, the answer is '47 CLEAN UP, which is the father of dad hats that we commonly say today. However, the funny part is that '47 CLEAN UP was not intentionally designed by '47 Brand at the beginning.
Back in 1990, the popular baseball cap featured a buckram at the front (buckram is a stiff-finished heavy cotton or linen part, used for interlinings in caps) and a high-profile crown, with a strong sense of structure. Hip-hop stars almost had one. However, there was a group of young people who weren't satisfied with stiff, structured baseball caps. Therefore, after they brought '47 Brand baseball caps, they recreated these caps by themselves - removed the buckram, washed them in the washer, and put these caps in the dryer to make them softer, which made them more close-fitting and better for their personality. '47 Brand noted this phenomenon, but they didn't say that we didn't recreate our products. Instead, '47 Brand made a very smart decision: if you wanna soft hats, then we make them for you. As a result, the first washed, unstructured dad cap was born - '47 CLEAN UP.
Consumers don't need to care about '47 CLEAN UP so much, but when they get them in hand, it seems that '47 CLEAN UP has accompanied them to so many places. In 2025, '47 Brand officially launched a marketing campaign, announcing '47 CLEAN UP as"The Father of All Dad Hats, which is not a boast, but the honest tracing of history. Because if there had not been such a decision in the 1990s, the dad hats we are talking about today might not exist.
Why Has '47 Brand Been Trending for Over 80 Years?
A hat brand has been trending for about 80 years, and it doesn't simply rely on "Good Luck". Here are the reasons.
First, '47 Brand has seized a sense of ease, which is a forever demand in the market. Fashion trends go up and down, but people's pursuit of comfort, freedom, and ease never changes. '47 CLEAN UP features a soft crown with a curved brim and a distressed look, which can properly meet this demand. '47 CLEAN UP is understated and never tries too hard, but somehow, when you put it on, it just feels right.
Second, '47 Brand really integrates sports and lifestyle. Many sports leagues authorize officially licensed sports brands to do little more than put a logo on a hat. However, '47 Brand does much more than that. '47 Brand has turned a team-logo hat into more than just game-day gear - it can now be seen not only in the stands, but also on fashion-week streets, in coffee shops, and at music festivals. In 2025, Pope Leo XIV wore a '47 Chicago White Sox cap at the Vatican; Kith x '47 Brand collaborations have commanded more than a 400% premium on StockX, while The Bear star Jeremy Allen White has also been spotted wearing a '47 Brand New York Mets cap. From Fenway Park to the Vatican, from sports fans to fashionistas, '47 Brand's products cross boundaries of classes and scenarios.
Thirdly, '47 Brand listens to its audiences. Young people who recreated '47 Brand's caps in the 1990s are the best product advisors for '47 Brand. Rather than telling its consumers how they should wear its hats, '47 Brand listens to how people actually want to wear them, and responds, "This is what you're looking for? Let's make it."
After Acquiring by New Era
In 2024, the headwear industry witnessed a major shake-up: New Era Cap acquired ’47 Brand.
New Era is one of the world's largest sports headwear brands. However, '47Brand represents a completely different style - a soft crown, presenting a casual lifestyle. After the acquisition, the annual revenue reached about 2 billion dollars.
What did this acquisition mean to '47 Brand? From now on, '47 Brand continues to run independently. Meanwhile, with the support of New Era's resources, '47 Brand has accelerated its global expansion, with a particular focus on key markets including the UK, Japan, and Mexico. The more important thing is that '47 Brand is positively creating its brand narrative story - not only selling hats but also being the father of dad hats.
For hat stores like BetterCrown, there is a signal that is worthy of focus: Big brands are consolidating, going global, and strengthening their brand stories. So how can smaller, independent brands compete with them? Perhaps the answer isn’t to get bigger, but to become more different.
Inspirations for Hat Stores
As a small business that thinks about how to sell hats better every day, we've learned 3 things from '47 Brand.
First, products with personality. '47 Brand's hats aren't just hats; they also have stories, attitudes, and a unique distressed texture. A good hat should not only protect from the sun, but also be part of personal expression.
Second, listen to your consumers. '47 CLEAN UP is the response to consumers' actions and observations. What's the feedback from consumers? How are they “reworking” our products? The answer could hold clues to the next bestseller.
Third, find our own roots. Fenway Park is the root of '47 Brand. In Boston, in that little cart back in 1947. That origin gives the brand an irreplaceable authenticity and a powerful foundation for its story. Where is BetterCrown’s root? We’re still searching for it. But when we find it, we’ll make sure to tell its story well.
In the End
'47 Brand may not be the coolest hat brand out there, but it may be one of the brands that understands best how a hat should actually be worn. With its soft-crown, curved-brim CLEAN UP, it helped define the aesthetic standard for an entire category. What began with a small cart beside the ballpark eventually found its way onto streets and runways around the world.
For those of us in the hat business, '47 Brand is not only a peer worthy of respect, but also a textbook worth returning to again and again. It reminds us that making hats isn’t simply about making a hat - it’s about creating a feeling of how a hat should be worn.
Common FAQs about '47 Brand
Q1: What's the relationship between'47 Brand and New Era?
Answer: In 2024, New Era acquired '47 Brand. Both are officially licensed brands of major U.S. professional sports leagues. New Era is famous for 59FIFTY, and '47 Brand is well-known for CLEAN UP. After the acquisition, both brands have run independently, but share New Era's global distribution and supply chain resources.
Q2: Where are '47 Brand hats made?
Answer: '47 Brands are made from so many countries worldwide. '47 Brand has strict standards about fabrics and craftsmanship. CLEAN UP, the icon of '47 Brand, is made from garment-washed cotton, with a soft sense of distressed texture.
Q3: What's the difference between '47 CLEAN UP and other dad caps?
Answer: '47 CLEAN UP is the first soft baseball cap that is pre-washed and unstructured, born in 1990. '47 Brand created the hat category of "Dad Hats"; therefore, it's called the father of all dad hats. All dad hats on the market today can be traced back to the theory of '47 CLEAN UP.
Q4: Does '47 Brand only have baseball caps?
Answer: No. '47 Brand's products cover trucker caps, fitted hats, beanies, T-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, and more.
Q5: What sports leagues does '47 Brand partner with?
Answer: '47 Brand is the official licensed brand for main sports leagues such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, WNBA, MLS, NCAA, and NASCAR. Besides that, '47 Brand has worked with more than 900 American colleges, European football leagues, and Grand Slam tennis tournaments.
Q6: How to choose the hat size of '47 Brand hats?
Answer: Most '47 Brand hats adopt a strapback or snapback design, which is suitable for most head circumferences. Some fitted hats have size options. It's suggested to choose via its size guide on the official website.
Q7: Why is '47 Brand called as "47"?
Answer: '47 Brand was founded in 1947, that is why it's called '47 Brand. It's very simple, and it's an attitude that doesn't need to say much.
Source:
1.Fenway Park. https://www.mlb.com/redsox/ballpark
2.'47 Brand. Our Story. https://www.47brand.com/pages/our-story
3.'47 Brand. HeadwearCollection. https://www.47brand.com/collections/headwear
4.Wikipedia. Boston Red Sox. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Red_Sox