Founded in 2017 in South Lake Tahoe, California, The Heartbeat Brand began as a premium hat company and has since grown into a purpose driven fashion and lifestyle business rooted in community, creativity, and authentic self expression. Led by entrepreneur and designer Parker Alexander, the brand draws inspiration from outdoor culture, regional identity, and personal passions, making it a relevant voice in discussions about how everyday apparel reflects broader cultural shifts. As baseball caps evolved from functional sports gear into symbols of individuality and belonging, Heartbeat Brand has contributed to that lineage through thoughtfully designed headwear that connects style with meaning. Its collections span interests ranging from sports and travel to environmental causes, while its custom and wholesale programs support organizations and events seeking wearable storytelling. Through retail products, community initiatives, and cause driven collaborations, the company illustrates how a modern hat brand can participate in the ongoing cultural narrative of the baseball cap.
How the Baseball Cap Became a Pop Culture Fixture
The baseball cap has undergone a dramatic evolution from its origins with the New York Knickerbockers in the mid-19th century to the plethora of styles and materials that make it a sought after fashion piece. As late as the 1950s, most baseball caps were worn only by athletes at the ballpark. Everyday hats tended to have a full brim that encircled the head, and if one peruses photos of fans in the stands of baseball games from that era, this is almost uniformly the style.
In the 1960s and 1970s, this shifted, as a trend of not wearing a hat at all took hold. Celebrities such as Elvis and Little Richard sported stylized pompadours that did not fare well when a hat was placed over them. This eventually reached professional classes. John F. Kennedy’s decision to forego a hat as President was such a cultural shift that he earned the nickname “hatless Jack.”
Into this changing world of fashion came farm equipment suppliers, fertilizer and feed retailers, and automotive businesses, who started producing giveaway plastic mesh hats. These were easily adjustable through a mesh snapback, which provided ventilation, and featured the company logo prominently on a foam panel on the front. Known as “trucker caps” and “gimme caps,” the hats proved enduringly popular in rural America. John Deere-branded caps were among the most ubiquitous, registering healthy sales increases throughout the 1970s, when they were no longer given away free.
The baseball cap proper broke out as a mainstream fashion statement in 1980, with the launch of the television series Magnum P.I. Actor Tom Selleck, portraying a detective in Hawaii, created a unique look of Hawaiian shirt, mustache, and Detroit Tigers’ cap. The idea for the latter accoutrement was Selleck’s own. A lifelong Tigers fan, he felt that “Magnum was a ball cap kind of guy” and went with it.
Meanwhile, baseball fans started wearing caps at games, a trend jump-started by official Major League Baseball cap manufacturer New Era, creating a new market in authentic team-branded wear. Cultural icons such as Princess Diana began sporting caps and jeans, imparting authenticity and an identity as the “people’s princess.”
In the 1990s, baseball truly crossed over into pop culture, with hip young actors such as Christian Slater and Leonardo DiCaprio sporting them. In the early 2000s, rapperJay-Z became associated with a New York Yankees cap, and Pharrell Williams and “That ‘70s Show” star Ashton Kutcher sported trucker caps as their signature look.
From 2003 to 2005, the Von Dutch cap, featuring breathable mesh, an embroidered logo, and a stiff structure, formalized an emerging streetwear aesthetic. These caps were adopted by female stars such as Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, and Lindsay Lohan, often in tandem with tinted sunglasses and low-rise jeans. By this time, the throwback trucker cap was ubiquitous across Amy’s subcultures, from skateboarding to hip-hop. At the same time, the caps remained popular in rural communities and the country music scene.
The next generation of billed hats includes a variety of styles offered by Heartbeat Brand. Its outdoor-inspired hats feature various colorways and patches, and materials ranging from cork to felt. Pursuits from golfing to surfing merit their own design lines, as well as those that celebrate the beauty of states and wildlife, through full-color photos under the bill. The Heartbeat hat asks each wearer to truly identify their passion in life and go for it to the fullest.
About Heartbeat Brand
Heartbeat Brand is a South Lake Tahoe based fashion and lifestyle company founded in 2017 with a focus on meaningful design and community engagement. Originally launched as a hat brand, the company creates premium headwear inspired by outdoor culture, personal passions, and regional stories. Led by founder Parker Alexander, its collections feature distinctive colorways and a signature heartbeat logo that emphasizes connection and purpose. In addition to retail products, the brand offers custom, wholesale, and blank hat programs, and actively supports environmental and health focused initiatives through charitable partnerships.