Last Updated on 25th November 2023
Who are Profit X Loss?
Also known as PXL, Profit X Loss are a UK based Urban Clothing Brand, making waves in America. Seen on such celebrity heavyweights as 50 Cent in his ‘9 Shots’ Video, they are turning heads for the right reasons. The Hip-Hop and street influences are clear, and this street-wear brand is dedicated to making quality products for their customer base to enjoy and their determination to succeed is clear. Co-founder Dacre Bracy is a self-confessed obsessive fan of street and youth culture, heavily influenced by music and a dream. Inspired to make authentic clothing to the highest standards, always casual enough to wear on the street, but of course sharp enough to wear in a club. As a Brand, their hats, tees, sweats and joggers are bold, bright and beautiful. Just looking at them invokes a flashback to my teenage years listening to The Chronic.
First and foremost for any new brand in the crowded urban wear market, there has to be good product to stand out. Profit X Loss certainly seem to have that for what we have seen.
We peaked at Street Wear specialists and stockist Thomas Gun for what they thought of the collection, and they seem impressed with more than the clothes. They reference the brand’s obvious knowledge and passion in what they do, with a clear attention to detail on every product. For them the stand-out indicator was the detailed product descriptions on the official website and that they clearly had not compromised on the quality of the materials. And you have to agree with the experts, these are clear signals on a brand heavily involved in the production of their garment.
What are peak panel caps?
Profit X Loss caps are different to most. First off, they use leather strapbacks instead of the more popular snapbacks, but they also detail a lot of their hats as Pinch Peak.
Baseball caps come in a variety of styles, and now colloquially called Snapbacks after the fastener at the back. Originating in 1860 as part of a baseball team uniform to keep the sun out of eyes, it modernised in the 1940’s more in keeping with its appearance now. In the 60’s they became common as local merchandising promotional giveaways, often for automobile companies, giving the name Trucker hats for the style with the mesh.
You can actually blame Tom Selleck for their exploding popularity, with his 80’s Magnum P.I character the first sex symbol to wear it and many copied. In the 90’s everyone saw the opportunity to use it for promotional reasons, and it became a big part of popular pop culture. The association with Hip-Hop really started here, with it often being worn backwards.
Before I start rambling about Kris Kross’s backwards jeans, let’s break them down. Ultimately it comes down to constructed hats with the buckram button holding it together, or the unconstructed ‘floppy’ caps. Then you have the bill or peak, which is either a hip-hop style flat or a curved ‘dad’ hat. But here are some terms you may have heard that might be easier to explain.
Snapbacks
Named after the plastic adjustable strap where it snaps into place to lock it in the chosen place. To make things confusing, this can be on a range of hats including trucker and baseball, so the term is based on the adjuster rather than the type of hat.
Strapbacks
As above but using a strap made of plastic or leather and a tightener, usually a metal bar through a hole technique. PXL favour a PU Leather strap.
Trucker
Usually made of mesh and foam rather than cotton so more breathable by nature, these are more suited to outdoors and sport. The top brand in Truckers these days is Fresh Ego Kid.
5 Panel
Straight out of New York and the skater parks, and adapted for fashionistas. The five panels consist of two top panels, two side panels and a front panel (or 2 on the 6 panel). Usually made with cotton twill, these are literally panels sewn up and held together by the button. These are the common snapback method, so a peak panel is literally a panel hat like this, with a peak.
Dad Hat
A favourite of ours as we prefer the curved peak, this is an old school hat that is practical as well as stylish. Perhaps more favoured by the older generation which still laments after it’s missing youth, it’s a classic style that will never go out of fashion.
Flat Peak
Hip-Hip style flat peak rather than curved. This can be carefully manipulated to curve as required and usually consisting of plastic or cardboard to stiffen or in the case of PXL PU Leather (leather coated with a layer of polyurethane) which is harder to bend. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as shows it will keep its shape for many years to come.
