My "New Era Hat" Post dedicated to Annie of Bonzai Sports

A couple months ago a new friend and colleague at Bonzai Sports (one of my favorite bicycle shops in the whole wide world) Annie, asked me, "Why do you keep that sticker on your hat? Is it to show how new it is?" But she asked me almost rhetorically--like she already knew the answer.

I explained that the actual reason I keep my hat+sticker intact, is because I'm so cool and nonchalant with my hat-wearing that I can't be fucked to take the sticker off. Its like if you just bought the hat from the shop and then just rocked it out of the store.

This explanation doesn't exactly tell the whole story. In the course of motorcycling and hanging out with folks that ride and are entrenched in the community, I have adopted some style cues that I was never completely conscious of until now.

Until a couple years ago, I didn't really wear hats at all. I'm not sure exactly why this was. I suppose its because I used to have (still have) a lot of hair. I think just wearing my hair out made the most sense in most situations. Besides, you can't get into a lot of bars in D.C. (where I used to live) wearing a hat.

Things changed when I started riding motorcycles. When you wear a full-face helmet, you get bad "helmet head." So how are you going to look halfway normal when you take the helmet off? Wear a hat. Anytime I went to a bike night, a lot of guys (I became one of them), cleverly tucked their hats into their passenger seats or on top (so you don't crumple it). So what is the go-to brand? New Era of course. This is the original wool MLB baseball cap brand that is famous for, among other things, making its first custom hat (a red Yankee fitted) for Spike Lee in 1996.

The gold "New Era 59/50" size sticker on the brim of my New Era hats stay on because I like them. They remind me of the big shiny gold stickers you get on "A+" quizzes in the third grade. And while I only wear a certain hat of mine when I'm out riding (because I'm afraid of ruining the others), it has miraculously remained attached to its original gold sticker (even in some inclement weather). Its like a miracle! I suppose I've even become a little superstitious about removing the sticker!

What about people that keep the brims of their hats perfectly straight (I'm not sure how that is comfortable unless your hat is way over-sized)?... Well...that's just ridiculous ;)