What's up With Bad Bunny's Weirdly Stylish Tourist Cap Obsession?
Bad Bunny is as omnipresent as ever, riding high from recent album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS and dropping a collaborative adidas shoe that TikTok's already calling the sneaker of the summer.
And every time you see Bad Bunny, he's stylishly clad in something fresh. Except for his hat. Bad Bunny will not stop wearing this one hat.
I first noticed Bad Bunny's newfound dad hat obsession when he dipped from Calvin Klein's mid-February runway revival. On his head was a quaint little number, understated in its simplicity: A light tan cap embroidered with "Saint Barths West Indies" and some palm trees.
At first blush, it felt like a cutesy contrast to the month's fairly brutal New York chill, its graphic flair modestly playing off of his slick suit. I didn't initially give it much thought.
But Bad Bunny simply would not stop wearing it.
A week later, it was perched atop his curly locks at the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans — presumably, he hadn't purchased it when filming the Ritz ad that premiered during the game — and again while bustling through New York, and yet again when meeting Will Ferrell at February 17's Saturday Night Live special.
What was it about this one "Saint Barths" hat?
Admittedly, its no-nonsense beach 'tude has all the hallmarks of a knowingly kitschy, accidentally stylish accessory. Perhaps it helps that it uses the relatively uncommon spelling of "Saint Barths" for an island typically referred to as "Saint Barts." But Bad Bunny's cap has enough uncomplicated cool to have been designed by a fashion brand like Casablanca or Jacquemus, whose sunny fare is a Bad Bunny wardrobe staple.
However, Bad Bunny actually discovered his new favorite lid at Chamade Saint Barth, a nearly 40-year-old gift shop located in the island nation's capital city, Gustavia. It's genuine tourist merch, elevated by the singer's good taste.
Chamade doesn't have a website or even a phone so the only way to match Bad Bunny's drip is to visit St. Barts for yourself. Don't mind if I do!
A quick skim online doesn't reveal any matching lids on the usual secondhand sites, though I suspect that enterprising resellers may fix that if Bad Bunny continues to make this thing his thing.
Fans seeking to steal Bad Bunny's look have to tide themselves over with his ongoing adidas collaborations, which always do brisk business. And you'll probably get a lot more mileage out of his new ballerina sneakers (literally).
Still, the reclaimed tourist swag is just another example of the breezy steeze inherent to the Puerto Rican superstar.
As for why Bad Bunny won't stop wearing this particular number, I can only assume it's a combo of the hat's unexpected stylishness and the universal human craving for beaches. You can take the boy off the island, but you can't take the island off the boy.
