NEW YORK - Looking for a black satin yarmulke like the one your grandfather used to wear?

Sure, you can still get it.

But why would you want to, when stylish and offbeat options abound? There is trendy camouflage and preppy madras plaid. Sports symbols and cartoon characters.

They are knitted, crocheted, hand-painted and fashioned from leather, suede and silk. The yarmulke - as it's known in Yiddish - or kippa in Hebrew, is a head covering "worn as a sign of respect to remind one always that God's presence is over us and as a sign of respect whenever we say a blessing," says Rabbi Joel Meyers, a leader of the Rabbinical Assembly, which represents rabbis in the Conservative Jewish movement.

While the skullcap is among the most recognizable Jewish symbols, it is not sacred, which makes it acceptable to adorn it with sports logos or TV characters, says Meyers, who usually wears a knitted yarmulke.

"The important thing is the wearing of the kippa, not what's on the kippa," Meyers said.

Children can find SpongeBob or Spider-Man on their yarmulkes. For teens and adults, there are coverings with skulls and crossbones.

"It's almost like you can trace the history of pop culture through yarmulkes - whatever is popular in society ends up on a yarmulke print," says Sara Schwimmer, whose PopJudaica.com sells skullcaps, including ones with playing cards and pinstripes and one just for dogs.

In general, the most observant Jewish men and boys wear the kippa at all times, while others may don it only inside synagogues or at holiday celebrations. In some branches of Judaism, a tiny minority of girls and women wear them.

When Chaykah Hoffman's son was starting school in 1987, she painted the "Ghostbusters" logo onto a skullcap. When people at school asked where they could get more, her business, Mazeltops Yarmalkes, was born.

It is the less observant Jews who buy the plain yarmulkes, because they want something traditional if they're only going to wear them a few times a year, she says.

"The more religious tend to go for the fun designs," says Hoffman, who is Orthodox.

Seventh-grader Casey Lamar of Fairfax, Va., is an Orthodox Jew who is proud to show his faith in Judaism as well as in his favorite baseball team.

"I guess you could say it's not only a religious statement but it's also a fashion statement," he said.