I just bought a new hat. If you want a "baseball" hat, your options are pretty limited: you can either get a hat with some sports teams insignia (NBA,NHL,MLB,NFL,NCAA) or some corporation (Nike,Adidas,Reebok). Recently, blank hats have become easier to get, but the market is still very much sport-centric. This doesn't mean you can't find other hats, it just means that you have to know where to look. The best place to find alternative baseball-style hats is at your local skateshop. I don't skate, but then nor do most of the people at your mall's skateshop, so it doesn't really matter. (Would it anyway?)

One of the labels I've been seeing a lot more of lately is ZOO YORK (sic). Zoo York makes decks (the board bit of a skateboard) and apparel. They are a very low-key company, and more than willing to respond to email / chat with the kids. They sponsor BMX and Motocross riders as well as skaters, and are active in the new york skate community. From the Zoo York website:

This is no cleverly manufactured entity you see before you.
This is not the creation of a group of men in suits in some board room.
This is, simply, who we are.

This is what we know.
And this is where we come from.

Seem like a pretty cool bunch of guys. The Zoo York logo looks very similar to that of the Yankees, with the N replaced by a Z. They have (apparently) fairly exacting standards, and a small note attached to the underside of my hat says:


THIS ARTICLE WAS DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED AT THE ZOO YORK INSTITUTE, NEW YORK. UNBREAKABLE.

I don't know how they back up this claim; and to my secret disapointment, the quadruple stiching would suggest that I'm not going to find out. For more information on Zoo York (there really isn't much, actually, except for a pair of interesting blogs... most of the site is still under construction) hit up www.zooyork.com.