The Princess of Wales tried to distract people from what she wore, but there was no way around it. All she had to do was show up at an event visiting scouts to highlight the importance of nature and its health benefits, and the most popular thing on websites, newspapers, and magazines was wearing a “different” hat that no one talked about.

That’s because Catherine was wearing a “Baker Boy” cap, or “baker’s hat” that matched the olive green tone of her look. It wasn’t the first time she wore the model; in 2013, she wore a similar hat with the same scout group, but the commotion was even greater this time.

The cap, which many remember as the Peaky Blinders‘, came back into fashion in the early 2000s, with Christina Aguilera and Jennifer Lopez appearing in it, but by 2010 it had fallen out of favor. However, films like A Complete Stranger, the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, inspired his girlfriend, Kendall Jenner, to wear it too. Could this be the return of the cap?

The origin of the cap

Called the “Baker Boy” or a newsboy cap, the cap has its roots in 14th century Britain and Ireland, where working-class men began wearing it because it was practical, cheap, and, because it was made of wool, warm. They became more popular in 1571 when the English Parliament passed an Act to encourage the domestic consumption of wool and trade in general. It decreed that on Sundays and holidays, all men over the age of 6, except the nobility and “persons of rank,” must wear woolen caps or pay a fine.

Even though it was repealed in 1597, the law ended up becoming a way of rooting itself in English culture as a recognized mark of a person without noble origins. There is no unanimity as to why it came to be called a “baker’s boy,” not even when newsboys also began to wear them, but from being informal and flexible, it evolved into a hat and became a symbol of Irish-American culture, being adopted by several social classes, including the English upper classes, for sporting events. King Charles himself was seen wearing a ‘baker’s boy hat’ when he was young and many remember that the character Jay Gatsby, from The Great Gatsby, also wore one. Experts say that they bring back a kind of nostalgia because they are informal but elegant.

Thanks to the Peaky Blinders (the real ones), the cap gained importance and was generally worn by boys and grown men. It is estimated that its popularity was also driven by men who did not like the volume of top hats and exchanged them for flat berets. Kate Middleton has been photographed wearing her Baker Boy hat before, on more than one occasion: after 2013, she wore it again in 2022, as a volunteer at the Great Tower Scout Camp, and now in 2025.

By all indications, the “Baker Boy” cap is experiencing yet another of its many reincarnations in fashion, now with the seal of approval of the British royal family — and of entertainment personalities. With its vintage charm, utilitarian touch, and a touch of elegant rebellion, it has spanned centuries and styles without losing its breath. Whether influenced by pop culture, cinema, or simply for its timeless versatility, the Newsboy Cap proves that some pieces never really go out of style — they just wait for the right moment to return to the spotlight.