Men's Flat Caps —
Barleycorn & Herringbone Tweed.

Barleycorn tweed · medium

Barleycorn tweed gets its name from its small, flecked weave, which looks a bit like scattered grains of barley up close. It's a subtler pattern than a bold check or herringbone — from a short distance it reads as a plain, textured tweed in a muted colour, which makes it an easy one to wear with almost anything.

I picked up a barleycorn tweed flat cap in medium and it's been a great all-rounder — smart enough for a jacket and shirt, casual enough for a walk in the countryside. It's a good pick if you want the classic flat cap look without a pattern that shouts too loudly.

Herringbone tweed · medium

Herringbone is probably the pattern most people picture when they think of a tweed flat cap — a broken zigzag weave that forms a series of V shapes, named after the bones of a herring fish. It has more visible texture and definition than barleycorn, giving the cap a slightly more traditional, "country gent" look.

My herringbone tweed flat cap, also in medium, fits just as well as the barleycorn one and has a slightly bolder feel to it. If you want a flat cap that clearly reads as tweed from across the room, herringbone is the one to go for.

Flat cap · medium

Barleycorn and herringbone are both woven tweed patterns, but flat caps come in plenty of other fabrics and styles too — plain wool, moleskin, tartan and check, waterproof and wax finishes, and lighter cotton versions for summer. There are also related shapes like the baker boy or newsboy cap, which has a fuller, more rounded crown than a traditional flat cap.

Worth thinking about before you buy: what you'll wear it with (a flat cap suits tweed or wool jackets particularly well), the season (wool and tweed for autumn/winter, lighter cotton for summer), and whether you want a subtle colour or something with more pattern. If you're curious what else I get up to outside of flat caps, take a look at my homepage.