Wario Cap

Wario's Cap is Wario's traditional headwear. The hat is yellow, with a large blue "W" emblem inside a small white circle and a white rim. It has been featured in every Wario Land game, and many other appearances of Wario elsewhere (a notable exception is its absences in the WarioWare series, as Wario wore a biking outfit in that series, instead of his classic clothing).

History
Wario's hat was based fully on Mario's Cap with minor differences. The hat got its yellow color artwork from Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins, but it never got colored that way in games until Wario's Woods, for every game he appeared in up until that point were black and white Game Boy games. Like his rival, Wario has been seen wearing the cap since he was a baby as proved by Yoshi's Island DS.

After losing as Wario in Mario Kart 64 and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, his profile picture will show him biting his cap. This is a pun on the phrase "I'll eat my hat"- used to express strong disbelief for something, in this case Wario losing.

In Wario: Master of Disguise the hat plays a more important part as a checkpoint in each chapter. There are many hats scattered in each chapter and if the player finds one, they can save the game. By saving, the player won't have to start from the beginning of the level if they die, instead starting from the location of the checkpoint hat.

The villainous Rabbid Bwario wears Wario's cap (or a replica of it) in Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

Wario's hat affects Wario as Mario's hat affects Mario. If Wario loses his hat at any time, most notably in Super Mario 64 DS, his defense and strength will sharply decline. By getting the hat back, Wario will have a steadier chance of survival in an extremely tough level. While his hat is absent, Wario is unable to pick up any hats or turn into Metal Wario. Also in that same game, Wario's Hat could be picked up by either Mario, Luigi, or Yoshi to shape-shift into Wario. Until he is unlocked, the only course his cap appears in is Hazy Maze Cave. If he loses his cap and gains a star from another level, Wario can simply talk to Toad (who will find and be wearing Wario's cap). While the cap is important to Wario, Toad diminishes it by saying that it "reeks pretty bad" and that Wario should wash it out more often.

Colors & Variations
Wario's hat hasn't always been its classic yellow as seen in most of the games he appears in. In some segments of Wario's Woods his hat appears purple, although in the SNES version, his hat appears yellow. In Wario Land II and Wario Land 3 Wario's hat is white. In Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 his hat was gray, however this was due to the monochrome textures of the Game Boy.

The hat has also been imitated on different headgear Wario has worn. Wario's WareWare helmet is in the style of his hat with the white rim and blue "W" emblem. Wario's Jungle Trek hat from Wario Land also has his signature blue "W" emblem.