Pumps & Pleats: Finding a non-dorky bike helmet

Story and photo by Michèle De Meglio

Is it possible to find a bike helmet that doesn’t make you look like a light bulb? Or a mushroom? Or just totally dorky?

Cyclists may be skeptical but Pumps & Pleats believes there’s always a way to be stylish.

My search for a hot helmet began at Central Sports on Kings Highway and East 14th Street in Midwood.

The two-story shop carries 900 pairs of sneakers and funky skateboards. With a matte black frame and yellow strap, the Triple Eight Brainsaver Rubber Helmet seemed like a good bet but it was dull and didn’t match my blue and white bicycle.

Ride Brooklyn on Bergen Street off Flatbush Avenue in Park Slope has an awesome collection of cruiser cycles and a friendly staff, but the helmets aren’t anything to write home about.

How could this be? Are there no cool helmets in all of Brooklyn?

As I prepared to ride the streets wearing an old Mets cap, an avid cyclist and coworker told me about Nutcase Helmets. They come in the craziest colors and prints imaginable! You can look like a watermelon, an eightball or a rainbow. So many choices!

I found my favorite style at Bespoke Bicycles on Lafayette Avenue in Fort Greene. The ocean blue Colorama helmet is covered with glitter and matches my bike perfectly. So sweet! So chic!

These helmets are so cool they’ll make you proud to say, “I’m a Nutcase!”

Bespoke Bicycles [64-B Lafayette Ave. between S. Elliott Place and S. Portland Avenue in Fort Greene, (718) 643-6816].

Michèle De Meglio is a native Brooklynite addicted to all things chic. Check out Pumps & Pleats each week for more adventures as she scours the borough for fab duds and accessories.