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Berkeley California Retro Vintage Washed Cap - Charcoal Logo

Berkeley California Retro Vintage Washed Cap - Charcoal Logo

Regular price $32.00 USD
Regular price Sale price $32.00 USD
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This is our retro Berkeley, California logo, printed in weathered charcoal on a retro vintage washed cap — an unstructured cotton dad hat that looks broken in from the day it arrives. The charcoal carries a faint wavering tone and a light speckle, so the print reads like it has been in the sun as long as the cap has.

One size fits most, so it is an easy gift to get right: no size to guess, only the town. Each cap is made to order. Hand wash cold and air dry, and keep it out of the dryer.

The trustees of the College of California named the place for the philosopher George Berkeley at Founders’ Rock in 1866, the university was chartered in 1868, and the town incorporated in 1878 by merging the campus hill with the waterfront village of Ocean View. The architectural golden age of 1910 to 1930 left Maybeck’s First Church of Christ, Scientist and Julia Morgan’s 1929 City Club, her little castle.

Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971 and started California cuisine and the farm-to-table movement; the Free Speech Movement had found its voice here in the 1960s. The city rises from the marina on the Bay to Tilden Park, Indian Rock and Grizzly Peak in the hills. Where the table, the soapbox and the hills meet the Bay is the mark on this piece.

The cap is 8.5 oz 100% cotton twill, enzyme washed and heavily brushed for a soft hand, with an unstructured six-panel crown, a mid-profile fit and a curved bill. A self-fabric strapback with a metal slider adjusts the fit and tucks away, and a self-fabric sweatband lines the inside. It is garment dyed with OEKO-TEX certified low-impact dyes, so every cap's color varies slightly — washed here means faded color and a weathered print, not distressed or frayed.


QUICK FACTS — BERKELEY CA WASHED COTTON CAP — CHARCOAL LOGO

Town: Berkeley, California

Founded: Named 1866; incorporated 1878

Known for: Birthplace of California cuisine (Chez Panisse, 1971); the Free Speech Movement; Julia Morgan’s City Club; the Berkeley Hills over the Bay

Art: Berkeley vintage retro logo, charcoal (printed)

Blank: unstructured six-panel cap, mid profile, curved bill, metal slider

Fabric: 8.5 oz 100% cotton twill, enzyme washed, garment dyed

Care: hand wash cold, air dry

Colors: 10 offered

Sizes: Adjustable

Made to order in the USA



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Wear Local. Feed Local. Stay Classic.

Product FAQs

How does your sizing work?

Every item is made to order, so please check the size chart on this page before you buy. Women's fitted tees run small; size up for a looser fit. Caps are one size with an adjustable strap.

How are items made and when will they arrive?

We make each item to order using premium blanks, embroidery and soft-hand prints. Production takes 2-5 business days (weekends and holidays excluded), then 4-10 days in transit via USPS, UPS or FedEx to U.S. addresses; most orders arrive within 6-15 business days. You'll get a tracking link the moment it ships. Any current shipping offer is shown in the bar at the top of every page and applies automatically at checkout, no code needed.

How do I send a gift?

Enter the recipient's address as the shipping address and your own as the billing address at checkout. Nothing ships with a price; the package includes a plain packing slip. Tracking goes to your email, not theirs. For birthdays and holidays, order two weeks ahead to be safe.

What's the return policy?

Made-to-order items can't be returned or exchanged for size or color, so please use the size chart and photos before ordering. If anything arrives defective, misprinted or damaged, send a photo and your order number within 30 days and we'll replace it or refund you.

How do I care for my item?

Apparel: wash cold, inside out, with like colors; no bleach; tumble dry low or hang dry. Embroidered pieces: iron inside out to protect the stitching. Caps: spot clean. Printed glasses and water bottles: hand wash only, no dishwasher, so the artwork lasts. Mugs and engraved glasses are dishwasher safe. Any item-specific care notes are in the description above.

Who makes this?

Merlin Classics is a small Connecticut brand making original retro designs for the towns people love. Every piece is printed, embroidered or engraved to order in the USA, and the business supports hunger relief in the communities our collections celebrate.

That habit of argument made national history. In 1964, students gathered on Sproul Plaza in what became the Free Speech Movement, a landmark in the history of campus expression that gave Berkeley a lasting reputation as a city where speech is taken seriously. Whatever one makes of the politics that followed, the movement itself is now a fixed part of the American civic story, and of Berkeley's.

All of it grew up around the University of California, chartered in 1868 and built on the first campus here — the institution that made Berkeley a city of learning, bookshops, and cafes that double as seminar rooms. In the 1930s, Ernest Lawrence's Radiation Laboratory and its cyclotrons made the hills a birthplace of modern physics. More than most American towns, Berkeley has been organized around ideas and the people who argue about them.

Why People Visit Berkeley

Berkeley balances learning with the outdoors. Visitors mix landmark architecture and famous kitchens with regional parks, rose terraces, and waterfront breezes. It is curious, green, and welcoming, with year-round appeal in its parks, paths, and public spaces. History and everyday culture sit side by side here in a welcoming way, from the Little Castle to the cafes of the Gourmet Ghetto and the trails of the hills above the Bay.

Berkeley California Merlin Classics retro logo — California grizzly bear, California Republic Est. 1850