Tempura Cap

A tempura cap with a single prawn stitched on the front

One battered prawn, tail up, embroidered on the front panel of a low-profile six-panel cap. The tempura cap commits to one object at badge scale, and that restraint is what makes it work.

Tempura arrived in Japan with Portuguese missionaries in the sixteenth century and was thoroughly rebuilt on landing. The Portuguese fried in heavy batter; Japanese cooks stripped it back to flour, egg and ice-cold water, mixed badly on purpose so lumps remain, then dropped it into oil for seconds rather than minutes. The result is a coating that shatters instead of chewing. It is one of the clearest cases of a borrowed dish becoming better than the original, and the ridged, irregular surface is the whole signature.

Thread is the right medium for that surface. The batter is stitched in short, uneven directional rows that catch light at different angles, which reads as texture rather than as a flat shape. A printed version at this size would be a beige blob. Embroidery gives it the roughness the food actually has.

It comes in black, stone, pink, light blue and white. Black is the sharpest contrast and makes the golden thread carry. Stone sits closest to the colour of the batter itself. White is the cleanest, pink the most unexpected, and light blue the coolest of the five.

Six panels, unstructured crown, pre-curved brim, adjustable strap, one size. Unstructured means there is no stiffening panel behind the front: the cap follows the head instead of standing away from it, which is the profile that sits properly under a hood.

Hand wash and air dry only. A machine cycle warps the brim permanently, and a warped brim makes a centred badge look off-centre — the one flaw nobody can stop noticing once they have seen it. Reshape it by hand while damp if it ever needs help.

• Type: Graphic dad hat
• Construction: Six-panel, unstructured crown, pre-curved brim
• Design: Front embroidery — tempura prawn
• Fit: One size, adjustable back strap
• Colours: Black, stone, pink, light blue, white
• Care: Hand wash, air dry, do not machine wash
• Wear it with: An oversized tee, straight trousers