Still Searching For Answers

I work with people several generations removed from my own. To be honest, I was never really on the cutting edge of fashion anyway, though I did have a T-shirt in college that featured a target on the front and the word "STUDENT" just above it...ah, the late 60's-early 70's. Anyway, so I, at least, get to view what passes for fashionable trends as students make their way into and out of my corner office (that's "corner" as in "next to the exit" not as in "surrounded by windows on the top floor.") North Face has been in so long I think it's ready to go out: Columbia and Nike remain for those hopelessly out of touch in the young adult world.
Bare midriffs have really gone away for the back-to-school set though college kids tend to be quite casual, favoring hoodies and baseball caps (the better to hide their eyes while sleeping in the back row or examining someone else's test paper).
It's the hats that caught my attention over the last year or so...not so much the hat itself as the way it's being worn: OVER the wearer's ears! Look closely at any young male, and you will not see the top of his ears: they are covered by the hat. None of the guys with whom I work could explain why that was the fashion any more than they could tell me why they didn't peel the gold head size sticker off the brim; "That's the way we wear it," was all I could glean from them. Personally, I think it's all Spike Lee's doing.
The New Era cap companmy has been in business since 1920, and it serviced its first baseball team, the Cleveland Indians, in 1932. Honus Wagner had a huge melon so the company had to make something special for him...thus, the adjustable cap came into being. Now, the company is the offical cap maker for all major league baseball teams, churning out 72,000 caps a week for the general public as well as the pros.
Why am I holding Spike Lee culpable? He was the first to ask New Era for a custom New York Yankee cap...in red. That started it all. Now every team has available many styles and colors though the pros rarely change the design too much, except for the Pirates, a team that changes hats roughly every month. Apparently, they are looking for one which will enable them to win a few games.
And, there are preferences for players, according to the company. Older players prefer a higher crown while younger players opt for a cap with a lower crown. Flat brims (a la Joba) are becoming popular as well, though not with me...much like the hat placed on slightly askew (a la C.C.).
The most popular logo, according to New Era? The New York Yankess by a 3 to 1 margin.
Me? I wear caps occasionally, favoring a low-crown Yankees or Packers cap, but I sometimes go old school with my high crown Emporai State University cap. Mostly, though, I want to get as much air to my head as possible to stimulate brown-hair growth instead of the ever-popular-with-my-cohort gray hair.
All of that, and I STILL don't know why guys need a hat so big that it covers the tops of their ears. Fortunately, another school year begins next week.