If you grew up during the noughties, you’re likely to have experienced the baker boy hat trend firsthand (mine was baby pink). Worn by everyone from Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera to Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada, the headwear—which is part country gent, part Peaky Blinders—was inescapable back then.
It came as something of a surprise, then, to see the Princess of Wales revive the baker boy hat this week while joining a group of Scouts in the Lake District to highlight the power of spending time in nature, as part of a newly released film. Paired with a matching green tweed bomber jacket, brown Aran knit and her signature skinny jeans, the royal was clearly in full country mode—not unlike when she was photographed near her home in Norfolk for the cover for British Vogue back in 2016.
In many ways, a baker boy hat revival has been brewing for a while now. Katie Holmes was spotted in one back in 2020, while Anne Hathaway appeared to pay homage to her most famous character, Andy Sachs, when she stepped out in the polarizing accessory in 2023. More recently, Kendall Jenner was photographed wearing a Bob Dylan-esque cap while out in New York back in February—signaling that fashion’s favorite It-girls may be preparing to embrace the baker hat en masse.
Of course, Kate’s baker boy hat is more likely to be a practical choice, rather than a fashion statement. Perhaps, even, it’s a desire for a certain kind of anonymity—an extension of the “don’t look at me” mode of dressing that we’ve seen the royal adopt in recent months. Ironically, of course, it’s the baker boy hat that’s got us talking.
