Paper Planes Hats

A Paper Planes hat is worn outward. The folded flag sits on the front panel facing everyone except the person wearing it, which is the whole point, this is a piece of clothing that talks to the room before you do.

And that was engineered, not accidental. In the early days the hats could not be bought, only given, and co-founder Emory Jones has described exactly what that did: run into somebody wearing one and you thought, "damn, who do they know?" The hat meant the wearer was connected. It still reads that way, because that is the reputation it was launched on. The full story →

What the mark means is unusually specific for a streetwear logo. It is a black-and-white American flag folded into a paper plane, and it stands for reaching a destination mentally before you get there physically. The brand was founded in 2014 by Shawn "JAY-Z" Carter and Emory Jones under Roc Nation, and that idea, Greatness Is A Process, is the reason the plane is made of a flag rather than a sheet of paper.

Headwear is where the brand started. The Original Crown, a New Era 9Fifty snapback, was the founding product and is still the hero of the line. Everything else on this page grew outward from that one silhouette.

Choosing between them: a snapback has a flat brim and an adjustable plastic closure, one size, sits high on the crown, the classic. A fitted has no closure, so it is sized to your head and sits closer; it is the cleaner silhouette and the one to buy if you know your size. An A-frame is structured but shallower than a 9Fifty, so it reads less blocky on a smaller head. A trucker swaps the rear panels for mesh, the summer option. A bucket has no structure at all. A dad hat is unstructured with a curved brim and the softest look of the lot.

If you are between fits or unsure of your crown size, start with the New Era fit comparison, it is a table, and it will take you thirty seconds.

Subcategories

Real pages, each with its own copy. Never faceted filter URLs.

The Original Crown, founding-line block

The Original Crown is a New Era 9Fifty snapback and the first product Paper Planes ever made. It has been in continuous production since 2014, which in streetwear terms makes it less a seasonal item than a fixture.

It matters commercially for a reason worth stating plainly: it is the most consistently stocked Paper Planes product at independent retailers nationwide. If you walk into one of the shops on the stockist map, the Crown is the piece most likely to be on the wall.

Shop the Original Crown →

Construction

The 9Fifty and 59Fifty silhouettes are made with New Era, which is the reason the crowns hold their shape and the brims stay flat rather than relaxing after a season. The plane is embroidered, not printed, on the better pieces it is a raised 3D embroidery that catches light differently at the edges.

Materials vary by silhouette and season: wool and wool blends on the structured fitteds, polyester twill on most snapbacks, corduroy on selected drops, cotton on the dad hats and buckets. Each product page lists its own composition.

Sizing

Snapbacks, truckers, buckets and dad hats are one-size and adjustable. Fitteds are not, you need your crown measurement, and getting it wrong is the single most common reason a hat gets returned.

Authenticity

Counterfeit Paper Planes headwear exists, and the tells are consistent: flat printed logos where the original is embroidered, wrong stitch density on the plane, mismatched underbrim colour, and hangtags with off registration.

Buying from the official store or from a listed stockist removes the question entirely.

How Paper Planes compares with other hat brands

Paper Planes is strongest when the buyer wants more than a generic logo cap. The Crown connects a recognizable silhouette to JAY-Z, Emory Jones, Roc Nation and the folded-flag plane mark.

See Paper Planes compared with New Era, Supreme, Kith, Stüssy, Aimé Leon Dore and Hat Club →

Where to try one on

Headwear is the most consistently stocked Paper Planes category at independent retailers, it is the category you are most likely to find in person rather than having to guess a fit online.

63 independent shops across 21 states, plus the flagship at 252 Lafayette Street in SoHo.

Find a stockist near you → · How Paper Planes compares to the other streetwear hat brands →

City pages send local intent up to this page; this page sends try-before-you-buy shoppers back down to them. The handoff has to run both ways or it only works once.

FAQ, FAQPage schema

What is the Original Crown?

A New Era 9Fifty snapback and the first product Paper Planes made, in continuous production since the brand launched in 2014. It remains the most consistently stocked Paper Planes piece at independent retailers.

Are Paper Planes hats New Era?

The 9Fifty and 59Fifty silhouettes are made in partnership with New Era. Other silhouettes in the line, buckets, dad hats, some A-frames, are not.

What does the Paper Planes logo mean?

It is a black-and-white American flag folded into a paper plane. It represents arriving somewhere mentally before you get there physically, the idea behind the brand's tagline, Greatness Is A Process.

Do Paper Planes hats run true to size?

Snapbacks, truckers, buckets and dad hats are one-size adjustable. Fitteds are sized to your crown measurement and do not adjust, measure before ordering.

Where can I buy Paper Planes hats in person?

At 63 independent stockists across 21 states and at the SoHo flagship. See the stockist map.

Quotes from Emory Jones on Boardroom Talks with Rich Kleiman, also on YouTube.