College baseball merch + California + bricks and mortar = ?
January 17, 2020 6:01 AM   Subscribe

Is there anywhere I could visit on our Californian holiday where could I shop for a variety of college ballcaps?

In April we're going to be travelling to LA, San Francisco and the coast inbetween. I really want to expand my collection of baseball caps and would love to pick up a couple from Californian colleges. I’ve especially got my eye on UCLA and Long Beach State, but beyond that would just like to see what takes my fancy.

Are there any bricks and mortar stores in either city or inbetween that stock a variety of college ballcaps? Bonus points if I might be able to get ‘dad cap’ style rather than onfield-style structured caps. We might spend a little time in Oakland too, if that helps.

I will also happily take suggestions for accessible locations to pick up merch for individual colleges, where accessible means “a reasonably adventurous tourist would only have to make a small detour”. We’ll be without car in the cities, with car when we go up the coast.
posted by FavourableChicken to Shopping (5 answers total)
 
A lids store might be your best bet, they should have caps from the regional schools. I'm not certain what the dad cap is though so I can't say if that would be more accessible there.
posted by Carillon at 8:57 AM on January 17, 2020 [1 favorite]


'Dad cap' is a relatively new name for caps with curved bills, generally without stiffeners in the crown. They usually have adjustable cloth straps at the back of the cap, but are sometimes fitted (the New Era 49forty and '47 Franchise are two examples of fitted caps in more or less dad-cap style)

Contrast them with the snapback/flatbrim/fitted style.

I don't know exactly what a California Lids store will have in inventory, but they generally carry caps from the local college and pro teams, plus a smattering of newsworthy (like, right now, they'll have LSU football championship stuff) caps, plus teams like e.g. the New York Yankees, or Notre Dame, that have some measure of nationwide popularity. Generally, they only carry college caps from places that have some level of athletic programs, so I would be surprised to see e.g. Deep Springs College.
posted by box at 9:21 AM on January 17, 2020


Just about any Lids store in the country will have a UCLA hat; stores in Southern California will have more of a selection. You might have to actually be in Long Beach to get a LBSU hat. Just about any major mall in the country will have a Lids store.

Many more general retailers, like Target, will carry school logo stuff for area colleges. Even more so for sporting goods stores.

Most colleges in the US will have a bookstore on campus that will have a ridiculous selection. Most colleges in the US will also have an independent store just off campus with an equally ridiculous selection (i.e. Campus Store in Westwood, just south of UCLA that I found by searching for "UCLA apparel store in google maps).
posted by LionIndex at 9:50 AM on January 17, 2020


Honestly, if y'all are flying into or out of LA, you can definitely get the UCLA cap at LAX. (Long Beach State is going to be a little trickier. I agree you might need to actually be at LBSU to get one.)
posted by Countess Sandwich at 11:05 AM on January 17, 2020


If you're in Oakland it's no big deal to come to Berkeley for a meal (great food there) or just to wander the Cal Berkeley campus where they have a gear store.
posted by latkes at 7:11 AM on January 19, 2020


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