Now most people will already know about Illest the San Francisco based clothing label, but just incase you don't I'm going to just fill you in with a few details.

They are an off shot of the Fatlace blog which started over a decade ago, Fatlace was set up to throw a spotlight on the huge Hip Hip culture in America and now it has amass a massive following and it has also broadened its scope to include the West Coast car scene as well as touching on skate boarding culture.

Illest Clothing has became an off shot of this giving the loyal fans of the blog clothing to wear so that they can show their support. Mainly known for their T shirts this article is going to high light their range of hats.

Caps are a very big trend at the moment and it is hard to walk around most western countries with out seeing a Snap Back or a 5 panel cap. The brands you will mainly see is the now heavily over exposed Obey and the less exposed but still very popular Supreme. Both over these brands have became synonymous with the cap culture but I think it is now time to look for alternatives. And there are a lot of alternatives on the market, mainly coming through start up brands which have jumped on to this culture. Where as a few years ago you had T shirt brands now you have cap brands with people working out that it is just as easy and as cheap to launch a brand off the back of a good hat. I am going to try and avoid these brands and look at Illest because it already has a long heritage to fall back on.

With caps being much of a much ness it takes little touches to make them stand out against the crowd and this is what Illest do well, whether it is the slightly shorter peaks of their 5 panels or the great use of materials on their Snap Backs they always have something a little extra going on. This I think goes back to the amount of years that the company has been involved in Hip Hop culture, they must have seen caps come and go and with that experience they have taken the best bits over the years and they have been able to craft the almost perfectly fitting hat.

I'm sure when you see them you will agree that they stand out against the back ground of normality and with the congested market at the moment is is these special touches that elevate the brands caps over the rest. So if you are looking to buy a new hat to keep the sun of off your head this summer then do consider an Illest Snap Back or an Illest 5 panel.