My travel wardrobe changes a lot depending on the kind of trip it is, but I always carry a couple hats along, including some kind of baseball hat or cap. The people at Nobis let me try out something from their spring line though and I’m waltzing around a city in Mexico with Oliver Closeoff.
Yes, all their hats have names, and great ones too. If you are ever looking for a funny fake name to give the hostess at the restaurant or when leaving a message for a friend, just pop over to the Nobis site for ideas.
Oliver is pictured above. The other two here are Colette Iday and Iriel Hassle. A few gems from the men’s line are Mack Aroni and Watson Yurface. I love a company that doesn’t take its “designer wear” too seriously.
Fortunately, the gimmick is backed up by quality workmanship. Many of these hats look like nothing 
you’ve seen in the stores (in a good way) and they’re built to last. Here is a description of the Hugh Demann one just to give you an idea of what goes into these:
Paper Straw. Textured Cotton/Linen. Print detailing on front panel and peak. Front piping details. Nobis button snap on front right crown. Velcro back closure. Nobis quick-dry wicking sweatband. Peak made from recycled PE materials.
Some are one-size-fits-all with elastic, while others have some type of adjustable band. The model I’ve been wearing has a built-in stash pocket, so another place to keep some money hidden while you travel.
I can’t promise that if you spend the $35 to $60 these retail for that you’re going to look like these lovely models (it didn’t work for me), but I do feel a good bit less frumpy wearing Oliver Closeoff around town instead of some tired baseball hat with a logo.
Check the Nobis dealer locater page to find where to pick up one near you.
#1 by Linda - June 17th, 2009 at 17:45
I love the names–they made me laugh out loud. I think my favorite hat is Candice B. Love…?
#2 by colette - June 23rd, 2009 at 17:57
i really like some of the designs, but their website is killing me! most of it is designed so fancily that text is mostly off page with no scrollbar. kind of makes me worry about their attention to detail.
thanks for the info on prices– another thing i found mysteriously missing from their site!
cute designs, and if you’re right that they are well made, i hope they can find a way to bring customers in to their website rather than drive them away! (i say this as a girl who LOVES a cute hat, obviously, as i took the time to figure out a way to work around their darn site)
#3 by Tim - June 25th, 2009 at 10:02
I hear you colette. I find that the more a company thinks of themselves as hip and fashionable, the worse their website is to navigate. They tend to be the “form over function” types. I think that Nobis site assumes a certain screen resolution (whatever the designer was using probably) and if you don’t have yours on that setting, you get those scrolling issues. It’s okay on mine, but I agree it’s an annoying site regardless. Thankfully the hats are more user-friendly!