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We flew South for the winter and spent some time with SAFE of MI GENTE CLOTHING. Picture Miami, Florida as the backdrop and pick your own soundtrack. For those not familiar, with the man and his movement class is in session.

Photos: Derick G

pcarr-vintage-fitted-baseball-cap-collection

Everybody’s got their “something”. For cap collector Paul Carr it’s vintage Major and Minor league fitted baseball hats. Like many of our readers, he’s got his own unique perspective on what makes this piece of American culture great. His prized collection proves that even in this modern age, there is still room for nostalgia. More on our favorite obsession after the jump.

danny kass interview

YOURLIFESTYLEFITTED recently interviewed Danny Kass, an Olympic-medal winning snowboarder and the owner of Grenade Gear. This exclusive excerpt from the interview and read the full story on Danny Kass at www.yourlifestylefitted.com.

What do you anticipate during competition in the 2010 Winter Olympics?

DK: I think you’re going to see a lot of things this season going down in competition, people stepping up and either trying something that you just want to land, or you’ve been visualizing and you’ve tried a few times and you’ve just never done. The area to push it has been competition.

You and your friends are very hands-on with Grenade Gear. What is it like working with them in the company’s early days?

DK: The coolest thing about the whole circle was after the design and after the marketing was the delivery. We all kind of prided ourselves and we’d get together to ship the product. It was super hands-on and authentic.

fitted baseball cap hat strictly fitteds elm company

It’s been a long time coming. Many have asked “Where are the hats?”. At last we have a concrete reply and a story to tell. To date, Strictly Fitteds has logged in over 5,000 posts and 14,573 images covering over 50 international brands. You might say we like fitted baseball caps a bit. WIth great support from our Sponsors, Staff, brand partners and blog alliances we have reached a new milestone: The first Strictly Fitteds fitted baseball cap.

We are proud to have completed this project with the production of ELM COMPANY, who showed and proved their dedication to craftmanship, punctuality and client satisfaction. After the jump, is a post-production wrap up with Alex Karayan of Elm Company.

King Stampede Nick L interview

Founder of both BOUNDLESS NY and KING STAMPEDE, in the past 8 years Nick Langella has taken his purchase of diyhiphop.com (still links to Boundless, check it) and with the help of his team turned it into a mini empire. The man, Sticky Stampede, took some time out of his busy day to sit down with SF and give you some insight into some of his favorite fitteds, the future of KS and how his team has remained innovative. Enjoy.

KS: It seems like the fitted hat market has changed dramatically since 2003 when King Stampede put out their first New Era. What are some of your fondest memories of those first few years making fitteds?

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Jim Farsetta King Stampede

James “Papers” Farsetta has been the King Stampede Design Director since the beginning in 2003. Before that he was doing illustration, After Effects for video and web design. He is a graduate of School of Visual Arts - Class of ‘97 and father of 2 and one hell of an artist. Follow his inner most thoughts and inspirations on his picture blog here. And check below to find out the why behind the KS fitted design processes. Our interview follows after the jump.

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The fitted baseball cap has been around the block and back again. In its global travels, this piece of Americana has been adopted by many different cultures and interpreted dozens of ways. We were recently introduced to an emerging designer that found her own unique flip on the classic hat form. KALIDOSCOPIO is a high-end crochet accessories line produced by Japanese born, New York based designer, Kayo Shibayama. Kalidoscopio’s products are hand made crocheted, cut, punched, and stitched pieces The brand’s creative vision focuses on transforming everyday designs into are sophisticated and unique items made with only fine quality materials. We’re taking a detour from our regularly scheduled program to dip into something different. Enter the crocheted fitted baseball cap.

The full interview follows after the jump. MORE >>

For the second interview of our guest editor spot, we also used the same approach when it came to the retail aspect of our business. We chose questions from our fans about the daily operations of where they connect the most, the sales floor. Meet Rome Nolasco, one of our retail clerks at HALL OF FAME.

HOF: Can you describe your first day at Hall Of Fame?

R: My first day at Hall Of Fame was on opening day. Being part of the opening was a pleasure and very exciting experience. It was busy, hectic, and crazy all in one. A fitted hat store in L.A. has been long anticipated, so you can only imagine how the turnout must’ve been. There were already some people who arrived early to catch first dibs on the goods. By the time doors were ready to open, the amount of people had multiplied. From folding shop tees to memorizing brands, styles, colors, prices, and sizes. It was an overwhelming task, but I managed to overcome it. I remember the AC was busted and it was hot. Walking up and down those stairs was a workout. So many people came out to the shop. I met a lot of interesting people. I never thought one could drop so much on 5 to 10 hats in one purchase. At the end of the day, I was exhausted.

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We chose to approach our interview a little different. We let our fans ask us what they wanted to hear. After receiving numerous questions, we chose 10 questions to give them a perspective from the creative and business end of it all. Here is what we were asked:

Q: Who’s responsible for the originality and design of Hall Of fame? Who worked on this project?

H.O.F.: From the onset, we all chose the lane to make HALL OF FAME timeless, classic American style and not chase trends. Once that was established, it was easy to plug in some custom touches. We knew our limits and are trying to carve our own niche. We hired Architect Nathan Lentz to execute our vision and give it life. Quality over quantity, at the end of the day, you have to love it. To us its about detail, it’s not about coming up with something crazy just to be different.

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NHTVSN Episode 2 Part 3 from NHTVSN on Vimeo.

Our Editor/Co-Founder, Nai does the honors and spills the beans on the daily obsession. Special thanks to the NHTVSN family for thinking we were interesting enough to do a feature on. Special no-thanks to “he-who-shall-remain-nameless” for ducking out of the video shoot at the last minute. Guess what? You’re buying.