Yakkay Up!

• For more than a year now, TATI has had an unhealthy obsession with Yakkay helmets from Denmark. But much like vegemite, vintage Soviet cigarettes, and knee high striped socks, it's about more than style. Yakkay is a solution for a problem that existed only in the twisted minds of Copenhagen art school students and cycling fashionistas. Simultaneously frivolous and highly practical, Yakkay seems to fit right in with all the other trappings of TATIville.

  

  Yakkay isn't for folks who don't already ride with a helmet. I suspect that these folks, whether hammering down the lakefront path in vintage wool and lace-up shoes; or sauntering around the neighborhood on a Batavus in search of a cup of Clover coffee, wear their bare tresses like a badge of honor. But neither will currently helmeted folks make the leap, because Yakkay isn't really a helmet in the conventional sense. They don't breathe, have limited adjustability, and are a little bulky. So who will wear Yakkay?

  

  A friend in Japan insists that these are headwear for those who aren't even cyclists in the first place. After a young women's fashion magazine featured the brand, his shop experienced an influx of 20-somethings buying both Yakkays *and* bikes, in the same trip. What an odd thing, I thought: a helmet so desirable that it gets non-cyclists on bikes.

  

  A Swedish blogger wrote that among his cycling friends, several sport Yakkays, a few wear scarves & hats, while the majority simply wear nothing at all. But he noted that nearly all of those who'd purchased Yakkays came from the second group. They were seen as fashion accessories in the end: just safer ones.

  

  I'm not sure what it all means, but I'm happy to report that access (and pricing) is much better than in years past. Availability is still pretty limited, though, so you may want to pre-order. Pre-orders will receive a 20% discount.

  $100, Helmet Only (S/M/L)
  $60, Covers: Tokyo, Paris, Cambridge, and Luzern. See yakkay.com for colorways.