Every so often, an otherwise ordinary object takes on near-mythic status among customers: Pet rocks. Cabbage Patch dolls. Beanie Babies. And now, blue berets.

Not just any berets, mind you, but Olympic berets. The ones the Toronto-based company Roots designed for the United States Olympic team. The American public is buying the navy blue chapeaux faster than the workers at the Roots factory can stitch them together.

“We've manufactured already well over 200,000,” Samantha Brickman, public relations coordinator for Roots, said Monday. “By the middle of this week, we expect to have manufactured half a million. We can't even keep them in stores. It's complete pandemonium.”

Why all the fuss?

The company's own theory is this: “When we saw it on the athletes during the opening ceremonies, it was fashionable, and it made the athletes look good in their uniforms,” Ms. Brickman said. “It's a great souvenir piece. It fits well and looks good on everyone.”

But even the folks at Roots are a bit taken aback.

“We didn't expect it to be as big as it is,” Ms. Brickman said.

While Roots is a Canadian company - it also designed the gear for Canada's Olympic team, a few items for the British team, and the jackets for the 1988 Jamaican bobsled team that inspired the movie Cool Runnings - it has U.S., um, roots. Co-founders Michael Budman and Don Green were both born and reared in Detroit.

Roots apparel caused a stir even before the Olympics. The navy blue berets were the most sought-after fashion accessories last month at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah. The hats, sported by the likes of Robin Williams and Shannon Elizabeth, are among the recent must-haves on InStyle magazine's web site, www.instyle.com. Even British princes William and Harry have been spotted wearing clothing by Roots.

A line of apparel inspired by the U.S. Olympic Team uniforms has sold well on www.usolympicteam.com. Roots sells its line at www.roots.com. (Roots Olympic wear is also available on the Nordstrom web site, www.nordstrom.com.) The items include hats, fleece tops, wool jackets, pants, and accessories, ranging from about $9 for a key ring to $300 for a parka. The dandy beret, embellished with Olympic rings and the snowflake logo, sells for $24.

The closest Roots store is just over the international border in Windsor, Ont., in the Devonshire Mall on Howard Avenue, a few minutes from the Ambassador Bridge. But if you don't want to do a border crossing, there's a store on West Maple Road in Birmingham, Mich - about 75 miles north of downtown Toledo.

If you're desperate for Roots gear at a discount, a Roots factory outlet store is in the Great Lakes Crossing mall in Auburn Hills, Mich., 84 miles north of the Ohio-Michigan line.

Jo Anne Patterson, manager of the Windsor store, had just a few minutes between customers to answer questions.

“It's been crazy!” she said, a smile in her voice. “We had the whole U.S. line and it's gone. . We are taking orders for the U.S. berets. They tell us between three to six weeks to ship.”

The price? $29.95 Canadian.

At the Birmingham store, things are even busier. No one there had time to take a phone call.

The Blade's wire services contributed to this report.

First Published February 21, 2002, 12:26 p.m.