Despite the think pieces, take-downs, and skewering memes, the itty-bitty cuffed beanie persists. You know the one I’m talking about—it is, after all, an otherwise regular beanie, save for the fact that the end of it has been rolled upward, leaving its wearer’s ears uncovered. Don’t get me wrong: a cuffed beanie can look cool when done right (we see you, Keanu Reeves, and we salute your efforts). At its most cringe, though, it can also reduce your entire outfit to cursed starter-pack fodder.
We haven’t quite reached the point where cuffed beanies feel as stale as cuffed jeans, but we’re getting close. Luckily, the remedy is simple: unfurl your beanies, bros of the world, and opt for a cuffless toque or a skull cap beanie instead.
Skull caps, for example, feature a slimmer profile than the chunky watch caps ubiquitous in third-wave cafes and on stubbly workwear buffs. They’re also more malleable, and easier to shape, crush, and obsessively mold to your will—and noggin. Unlike cuffed beanies, they lean and slump with more attitude than a teenager. Sure, skimpier skull caps are prone to shape shift throughout the day, but shorter skullies hug your dome without demanding afternoon zhuzhing.
You can, of course, wear a skull cap beanie over your ears, as nature intended. But you can also cock it jauntily to the side, or perch it high upon your head for maximum artful collapse. Pair it with a bomber jacket and big jeans or with a preppy blazer and a button-up. Style it with sporty shades and a waterproof ski jacket or your rattiest band tee and a vintage thermal.
Because as physically malleable as the cuffless beanie is, its appeal is just as chameleonic. It conjures everything from '90s-era rappers to Aspen ski bums; 2000s boybanders to unwittingly swaggy method actors; anti-authoritarian skate rats to velour-clad pop girlies in bug-eye shades and booties.
The fashion crowd has been on the skull cap beanie tip for a second, and the idea, or a similar variation of it, has been cropping up in the womenswear space in the form of scarves and bonnets. Are the head headwear honchos trying to tell us something? Hell if I know. But we sure seem to be on the cusp of a seismic shift in beanie culture on par with the forces that finally propelled the zip-up hoodie to overtake its pullover counterpart.
