What does the upside-down “DALLAS” hat mean?
The upside-down Dallas hat was created by True Brvnd in 2020. True Brvnd's owner Sang Truong wanted to create an iconic hat for the city of Dallas, where the streetwear company was founded. Nwodo explains that True Brvnd flipped the word Dallas upside-down “because everything was crazy at that point” due to the COVID pandemic. The original run of 30 hats sold out in just a few days. Since then, publicity from professional athletes like Dak Prescott and celebrities like Post Malone has helped True Brvnd’s upside-down DALLAS hat become a major trend. Since then, True Brvnd has continued to produce their signature upside-down Dallas hats, but they’ve expanded their line to include a variety of colors, textures, and even other logos. Meet the wikiHow Expert Tobi Nwodo is an influencer and content creator with over 600,000 followers across YouTube and TikTok. His videos usually cover topics like internet culture, memes, trends, and slang.
How did the upside-down hats start trending?
The hats took off when the Dallas Cowboys’ backup quarterback joined True Brvnd. Truong connected with Ben DiNucci, the Cowboys’ newly-drafted backup quarterback, and DiNucci joined True Brvnd as a co-owner. He helped get the hats in the hands of professional athletes, including Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Prescott was seen wearing the hat publicly, helping draw attention to the brand. Other Cowboys have sported True Brvnd’s upside-down Dallas hats, including Trevon Diggs and Tony Pollard.
True Brvnd expanded through endorsements and collaborations. True Brvnd’s upside-down Dallas hat has gotten high-profile exposure from celebrities and professional athletes. Additionally, the brand has collaborated with numerous teams and even brands, helping drive the upside-down letter trend even more. For instance: Post Malone wore a forest-green upside-down Dallas hat at the Super Bowl and in his video for the song “I Had Some Help.” Dak Prescott collaborated on a hat for his foundation “Faith, Fight, Finish.” The hat has Prescott’s signature stitched onto the side, plus lettering inside the hat that says “FLIP THE SCRIPT. ASK 4 HELP.” True Brvnd has collaborated with every Dallas-area professional and collegiate sports team, including the Cowboys, Mavericks, Rangers, Wings, Stars, and FC Dallas. True Brvnd has even partnered with Texas-based chain Wingstop in a collaboration with athletes Paige Bueckers and Cam Ward.
Other brands picked up on the upside-down letter trend, too. As the upside-down Dallas hats took off, knock-offs and similar designs flooded the market. “Dallas was the first upside-down hat, and then there was L.A. and Austin. And all of a sudden, every city had an upside-down hat,” says Nwodo. According to Nwodo, controversial reactions to the hat may have made it more popular: “Any time something gets really popular, there’s another side of the internet that starts hating on it. So [people were like], ‘This is cringy,’ and that blew it up even further.” Today, you can find upside-down lettering on hats promoting a wide variety of teams and brands. Some vendors even allow you to customize your own upside-down letter hat.
Why are True Brvnd’s upside-down hats sold out?
Limited availability makes the hats even more popular. True Brvnd only releases products every few weeks. When the hats do drop, they sell out fast, so be prepared to act quickly if you want to grab one. Even if you live in the Dallas area, buying a hat in person can be just as challenging as snagging one online—in-store releases often draw huge crowds, too. If you want to buy an authentic True Brvnd hat, keep an eye on their website to catch the next drop.
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