What does the upside-down LA hat mean?
Most of the time, it’s just a fashion thing. In the vast majority of cases, the upside-down LA hat doesn’t mean anything. It’s just a fashionable clothing option, especially in the streetwear and hip hop world, where these hats tend to be especially popular. The same way that baseball caps come in different colors and different styles, some of them come with different logos. The upside-down “LA” design is just a popular variation because the logo is still easily recognizable.
Some people use the upside-down hat to signal distress about a game. In the US Navy, an upside-down American flag is a symbol of distress. Basically, a ship might fly the upside-down flag if their engine blows out or they run ashore and require assistance. So, an LA Dodgers fan might opt for the upside-down hat as a way of expressing the need for a big trade or luck getting back in the race after a few losing games. In recent years, an upside-down American flag has become a protest symbol. If someone is an especially passionate Dodgers fan and they’re having an especially rough year, a fan might wear the upside-down hat as a way of expressing displeasure with the organization.
It could be used as a “rally cap” when a team is behind. In the world of baseball, an upside-down hat (literally, you flip it inside out so the brim is reversed) is called a “rally cap.” Basically, if your team is losing, you might flip the hat you’re wearing inside-out to “reverse” your fortunes. Someone who doesn’t want to ruin their hat might just swap their normal cap out for an upside-down logo variant instead.
Where did the upside-down LA hat come from?
The brand Kill the Hype LA is credited with inventing it. Kill the Hype LA (aka KTH) is a Los Angeles-based streetwear brand. The word on the street is that they were the first brand to invent the upside-down LA hat logo, which would partially explain why the upside-down logo hat isn’t nearly as popular in cities outside of LA. The hats became especially popular after Chris Brown started wearing and promoting them.
Why do some people think the upside-down hat is disrespectful?
It goes back to the tradition of “flipping” in graffiti and gangs. Also known as “dropping,” “flipping” is the act of turning something upside down as a diss. A gang member might “flip” a rival gang sign by putting the logo or hand sign upside down, and a graffiti writer might write a rival’s name upside down (or backwards) as an insult. As a result, some people think the upside-down LA hat is intended to be a sign of disrespect (although that’s not true). As an aside, while the act of writing or displaying something upside down is disrespectful in both the gangbanging and graffiti writing subcultures, graffiti artists don’t actually have anything to do with gangs.
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