That hat's saying a lot about you. Is the visor curled or flat? Does it sit straight on, backward or is it cocked to the side? Does it bear a classic team logo or something less traditional, maybe a skull with wings?

You can bet they're paying attention at New Era Cap Co., the company that may have made that hat. And with a glance at your lid, they can tell who you are - including what you'll be wearing next.

The designers at New Era keep a hawk eye on the fashion trends from their little corner of New York.

There are 30 designers at New Era Cap Co.'s headquarters who are constantly in touch with 15 colleagues in London and five in Irvine, Calif., to come up with new ways to keep the ubiquitous baseball cap fresh and in demand.

Yes, New Era supplies all the official on-field caps for Major League Baseball. But that's only part of the 35 million caps sold by this family-owned, 88-year-old company last year.

The huge design team launches some 500 new products each year over five fashion seasons: two for spring, two for fall and one for the holidays. That means countless color and pattern combinations, with fabrics including silk, cashmere, chiffon, denim and snakeskin.

By far, the most popular style of cap is the 59Fifty, the fitted on-field cap worn by everyone from big leaguers to Spike Lee. Last year, 77 percent of New Era caps sold were 59Fiftys - which is a product number that dates to the 1930s.

The 59Fifty, which retails for $32, tends to be easy to spot. A lot of wearers leave the product sticker on the uncurled brim. In more urban, fashion-forward circles, it's just not cool to remove it.

A more traditional guy might go for a stretch fit, peel the stickers off and get right to work curling the visor. (Spritz it with water, put a rubber band on it and stick it in a coffee cup.)

The designers not only need to keep up on what's hot and what's not, they have to anticipate it.

The designers are online sometimes minutes after a fashion show ends anywhere around the world, taking notes on colors, fabrics and style trends, while groups of specialty designers fan out on trendspotting missions around the world.

Some designers go to baseball and football games to see what people are wearing, while others focus on the ''street/urban'' look, ''action sports'' trends seen on skateboarders and snowboarders, and women's and children's fashions.

''People are always amazed. They think it's a baseball cap - you just plop a logo on it,'' said Gina Goss, New Era's women's product development manager. ''We spend a lot of time doing research, an incredible amount of time.''