This is gonna be a looong list so bare with me, hopefully you'll find something(s) you like.
The first thing I'm gonna share with you isn't really new, it's just new to me and not so popular as to be widely known about. They're the new era fitteds of the popular "Made in Detroit" brand, pictured below, and they're cool in a few distinct ways. One, they come in Tiger's colors, two, they're out of Detroit, and three, I think the symbol is really evocative of the nature of the city. To elaborate, I think the patch says a lot about the working class culture that built the city and that Detroit is famous for. Shout-outs to the Motor City are always going to be popular here, sorry if you are from elsewhere/ are a hater.
(P.S. even though I thought these guys were relatively unknown, they're running out of sizes and color schemes fast, get it quick or be sorry later)
The second items to take a look at are actually two hats from the same place, Fitted Hawaii. The first is the Mua Hooligan fitted. The guy here kind of reminds me of the aztec symbol used by San Diego State University for athletics, but since this store is based in, you know, Hawaii, I'm guessing that's not what this is. There's one thing it definitely is tho, and that's swag. The black background really makes the symbol pop and the face in profile just cool, I can't think of a better way to describe it.
The second hat features sort of the same look, but the design is definitely different and swagged up in its own way. This hat is featured in various color schemes, most of them are solid and the pictured one is my favorite, and has more of a 3D looking Hawaiian warrior (yeah, that's what I've decided it is). Also, if you aren't sold on the hat just by looking at it, consider this, it's called "Kamehameha", you read that right, it's just like Dragon Ball Z. If I had photoshop skills this is where you'd see Goku wearing this hat, instead I'm just gonna show you the hat, and let you know that Vageta thinks its swag is over 9000.
As an advance warning, these hats cost $50 bucks and are shipped from Hawaii, so it's gonna cost you a lil bit if you want one of these.
For my next recommendation we're gonna head to REVIVE in Birmingham. I've already state my feelings on the store so we won't go over that again, but I will say that the custom fitteds they put out are usually top notch. This one is no exception, the MI design may only appeal to Michiganders (maybe out of Staters will also appreciate it) but the look should appeal to people from everywhere. The simple cursive script with State initials has been used by several stores, most notably In4mation for Hawaii and Ecapcity for New Jersey and possibly New York. Anyway, the look is polished and I'm lovin the MI, so stop by Birmingham and get it.
The fourth hat I want to discuss is from the Crooks and Castles spring drop and is called the Port. I'm not in love with this color-way ( I've seen an excellent blue and gold one but I can't figure out where, maybe in a dream or something) but the design is top notch. The wreath that runs across the brim offsets the Crooks' C and the rolled silk nicely and overall this is just a really creative piece with things you don't often see on hats. It's available a ton of places, since the brand is so huge, but I'll send you to motivation to get it since they're kinda the hometown team.
SN: the one at motivation is in black and white which I like better than this anyway.
The next hat recommendation is one of those ones from a store with no web store, you're going to have to be in Chicago to grab this one. Akin has put out a ton of new color-ways of their knight fitted and it's definitely worth looking into. The design looks cool from a distance and I also like the diversity of options with this hat, but what really gets me is the level of detail. If you look close enough you can see the word "akin" stitched into the top of the helmet, I don't know why but that's the kind of thing that really appeals to me in a hat design.
The last two items for discussion are both gonna bring us to Burn Rubber. The first items (pictured below) are their new Detroit snap backs.
These hats are obviously popular with me for their Detroit theme and the Burn Rubber chef on the side. I also like this script and think that this is a really well put together hat, especially for a snap back. It's also featured, in what looks like fitted form, in this Mike Posner music video:
If you aren't a Posner fan just skip to about the 3:40 mark, if you watch the whole thing, you can also see Wayne in a nice hundreds fitted (which is way better than his own fitted as previously discussed, good job Wayne).
The second Burn Rubber item is a significant piece on several levels. Its primary importance comes from the fact that it's a design meant to help the people of Japan recover from tsunami damage. It's designed by Kengo Tanabe and has the burn rubber logo made to look like the Japanese flag as well as the Burn rubber motto written out in Kanji. I realize my post seems a little late but Burn Rubber didn't release all that long ago and I think it's still critical that we help the people suffering from this disaster long term.
So this has been another swag post. Hopefully I'll see you soon, if not I may have quit blogging without informing you, but don't worry, I'm hoping that won't happen almost as much as you are.
