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San Diego California Retro Vintage Washed Cap - Charcoal Logo

San Diego 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 San Diego, 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.

Cabrillo claimed the bay for Spain in 1542, and on July 16, 1769, Mission San Diego de Alcalá and the Presidio were founded, the first of the twenty-one missions and the first European settlement on the West Coast of the present United States. The American city incorporated in 1850 and Alonzo Horton laid out the modern downtown in 1867.

The 1915 Panama-California Exposition built Balboa Park’s Spanish Colonial Revival core, 1,200 acres and the largest urban cultural park in the nation; the Hotel del Coronado has stood on the Silver Strand since 1888, and the Navy fills one of the great natural harbors. Seventy degrees year-round on a bay that has been America’s harbor since 1769 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 — SAN DIEGO CA WASHED COTTON CAP — CHARCOAL LOGO

Town: San Diego, California

Founded: July 16, 1769; city 1850

Known for: Birthplace of California (1769); Balboa Park; the Hotel del Coronado (1888); San Diego Bay and the Navy

Art: San Diego 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.

Through the World Wars the harbor turned San Diego into a Navy city. The deep bay and mild weather made it an ideal homeport, and the fleet, the air station on North Island, and the Marine recruit depot grew into the economic backbone of the region — the Pacific Fleet's principal home and one of the largest naval concentrations anywhere. The bay fed the city too: by mid-century the tuna fleet, crewed largely by Portuguese and Italian fishing families, had made San Diego the tuna capital of the world, and the old Naval Training Center on Point Loma lives on today as Liberty Station. The city built airplanes as well: Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis was designed and assembled in San Diego in 1927. For generations of sailors and Marines, 'stationed in San Diego' has been a line in countless life stories, and the phrase still carries the salt air, the gray ships, and the harbor that taught them the Pacific.

Today San Diego trades on its climate as much as its history — 'America's Finest City,' roughly seventy degrees the year round, with the Pacific at the doorstep. Visitors and locals split their days between Balboa Park's museums and gardens, the coves and cliffs of La Jolla — where bright-orange garibaldi, California's state marine fish, cruise the tide pools and the underwater park — the lighthouse of Point Loma, and the long beaches of Coronado, Mission Beach, and Ocean Beach. The city eats from its own taco shops: fish tacos, carne asada fries, and the california burrito, invented right here. The bay glitters, the sun drops behind Point Loma, and the same harbor that started the whole story keeps right on working into the evening.

Why People Visit San Diego

San Diego rewards visitors with a rare mix: deep early-California history, a working Navy harbor, great parks, and miles of Pacific coast under a famously mild sky. People come for Balboa Park and the bay, the beaches and Point Loma sunsets, and the story of the city where California began — historic, easygoing, unmistakably Californian.

San Diego California Merlin Classics retro vintage logo featuring the California bear and star and 1850