What’s The Difference Between Mass Made and Custom Hats?
The warm season is right around the corner. Instead of worrying about how to layer our clothes to stay warm, we have to find ways to keep our skin safe from the sun. Heat and wave radiation is probably the worst enemy of our skin because it can lead to burns and even skin cancer. For this exact reason, many dermatologists recommend using preventive measures like wearing sunscreen, umbrellas, and, most importantly, hats.
Hats are an essential accessory of any wardrobe, both because of their stylish nature and the many benefits they have on our health. People have been using hats for aesthetical and practical purposes since Ancient Egypt. Many important figures in history can be seen wearing a hat to display power and social status.
However, industrialization has changed the heavy symbolism of the hat by mass-producing it instead of encouraging customization.
Customization vs. Mass Production
Mass production and specialized manufacturing are required to turn raw materials and resources into final goods. Mass manufacturing employs a linear technique to swiftly generate vast numbers of a final product. On the other hand, custom manufacturing uses a unique way to create a lesser amount of items tailored to a customer’s precise requirements.
To dive deeper into the subject, we selected a couple of criteria that helped us see the difference between mass-production and custom hats.
Perfect fit
There are so many hat models in the world. Every category has subcategories that make it much more challenging to choose the right option for a specific event, from caps to beanies. Not only that, but mass-made hats can be a Russian roulette when it comes to fitting your head. Custom made fitted hats are the perfect solution to ensure that you will have the perfect outfit match no matter the event and where you wish to go. They also provide a great amount of comfort because not only are they made to fit your head, but they also ensure that the back of your head will not itch as it would with a commercial hat.
Quality
Quality over quantity. That is the principle that governs any custom-made item. In fashion, quality determines the actual value of a clothing piece and ensures that it will last a prolonged time. In this context, value does not necessarily mean the amount of money spent on that specific item but rather the details like the quality of the material, the print or embroidery, and how accurate the seams are.
A disadvantage of mass-produced hats is the use of fabrics that are proven to absorb heat instead of repealing it. It uses these fabrics because they are cheaper and are easier to find to satisfy a large number of demands. On the other side, custom hats take the purpose and season as factors to choose the best fabric.
Symbolism
Before becoming a standard clothing item, hats were meant to represent power and authority among people. Now hats are accessible to everyone and are mostly produced in consideration of trends and what is popular. Instead of a personal brand, hats are seen as just an accessory. Custom hats change the game by allowing individuals to design their own headpieces to match their desires and personality, thus bringing back the uniqueness of hats.