Christy’s London Outback Panama Sunhat

While the gold miner may have popularized Panama hats originally, it did not take long for the straw hat to catch on and catch on big becoming more popular than any other type of hat being worn today and with good reason. Panama hats are more flexible, lightweight, durable and comfortable than any other hats. They allow the air to circulate under them while blocking the scorching heat from the sun. They last longer retaining their shape and maintaining their elegance for many years to come.

Panama hats pack and wear maintaining their fresh good looks at all times.

A Panama hat can be folded, placed in your luggage and taken out hours later to wear looking none the worse for wear. You may love your Panama hat so much you may not want to stash it in your luggage because that may mean taking it off. The hat is specially blocked to mold to one’s head and promises to be the most comfortable hat you have ever worn.

Once you have donned a Panama hat you won’t trade it for another.

White Mountain Straw Hat

The above hat is a very high quality hand woven hat made of the finest fibers. It contains 1600 threads per square inch and has been hand blocked to ensure durability and perfect fit.

The Panama hat moved up from the goldmine to the White House.

At first Panama hats were worn almost exclusively by natives and gold miners but soon they were being seen on the heads of some of our more distinguished individuals such as Cary Grant, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Winston Churchill and Harry Truman. (Not in order of the way they appear here.)

A glimpse of Justin Timberlake will remind you that Panama hats are still alive and well, and even better than well – Fabulous

You probably have seen quite a few movies with Sean Connery sporting his Panama hat and looking classy as usual.

The Panama hat is not gender specific.

You don’t have to be male to love Panama hats or to look totally terrific in them. Look at these ladies who are sporting theirs. The wonderful and versatile Panama hat crosses gender lines magnificently.

This cream colored Panama hat sits atop Lindsay’s beautiful head creating a pure vision of loveliness but not just that it signifies that Miss Lohan is an independent woman who is not afraid to create her own personal style as you can see by her image.

No two hats are identical.

Angelina Jolie truly takes possession of this hat creating her own classy signature look. There is nothing masculine about this hat when worn properly by a classy female, but sit it upon the head of a male and the hat will become him. Each Panama hat is individually woven and hand blocked so no two are identical so it is easy to understand why they become the wearer.

Britney Spears, a well-known singer, arrived at the grand opening of the LAX Nightclub, Las Vegas Nevada, in elegant attire which included her Panama hat.

Eva Longoria shows her strong fashion sense wearing a blue strap Panama hat.

Two main processes are used to create your Panama hat; weaving and blocking. The Panama hat, although commonly referred to as Panama hats were sold in Panama but made in Ecuador from the plaited leaves of toquilla straw plants.

Panama hats are lightweight and breathable.

Because of the components of the Panama hat it is light weight, breathable and naturally light colored. They are perfect for warm climates and perfect for packing as they retain their shape. More Panama hats are produced more than felt hats as they are more versatile.

Count the stitches in a square inch.

To determine the quality of the weave the best way is to count the number of weaves per square inch. Fewer than 100 per square inch is considered low quality while more stitches would indicate a better quality weave.

This is quality that you can see at 1600 threads per square inch of tightly woven fibers which are then hand blocked to a perfect shape. The hat is made to be durable and long lasting giving the owner years of elegant wear.

Check for the width of straw strand.

The quality of the Panama hat can be seen in the not just the tightness of the weave, but also the quality of the straw. There is a series of concentrated rings in the hat caused by adding new strands of straw. These are called carreras. A hat can take 3 days or months to create.

Make sure there are no gaps, bumps or holes.

Look at the fineness of the straw and the weave. The straw can be made finer by dividing the strand into thinner strips, generally with the fingernail. The finer the straw the longer it will take for the weaver to create the hat but the better quality the hat will be. The smoother and finer the weave of the hat is, the better the value of the hat. Examine the weave to be certain there are no gaps, bumps or holes. You may note a pattern similar to herringbone or diamond. The cost will go up accordingly.

Bleaching can weaken the durability of the hat.

The color is not a big factor in either quality or price. Natural colored would be similar to straw. Hats can also be bleached and dyed. The bleaching however can weaken the strength of the straw. While each hat is unique and there may be slight variations of color, the colors should not be patchy. Another thing to be aware of is that not all hats are actually “Panama hats”, meaning that not all of them are created in Ecuador. Some are actually created out of materials imported from all over the world. While some materials are quite nice not all of them are.

You get what you pay for.

A well-made hat will reward you with many years of use. A lesser quality hat will not retain its shape or hold up to time like the superior ones. You can see and feel the difference. In some things quality may not matter, but if this is a hat you want to wear and enjoy for years to come, the difference in the price is insignificant when measured against the usefulness and dependability of the garment. This beautifully handcrafted hat is both woven and crocheted and can be worn with pride for the lifetime of the owner. Each hat, because it is individually created is unique and one of a kind. There are no two exactly the same. They are each one a work of art.

The hat begins its journey of creation at Cadeate, a village along the coast in Ecuador’s Guayas province. For five days in each lunar cycle, the toquilla is harvested. Toquilla, a ten foot tall wild *palm like plant is the pliable, durable and flexible straw used in the weaving of this hat. The scheduling of the harvest is made to coincide with the moons waning quarter as the straw holds less moisture and is easier to cut and more pliable to work with. The village council mandates that each family has a daily quota of 1200 stalks per day. The outer sheath of each stalk is removed and leaves ribbon like strands to work with.

*The toquilla palm is not a true palm differing in that the trunk is not woody. It reproduces vegetatively not from visible seeds. The leaves are also different from true palms, but it contributes to a soft, flexible and durable hat and other items.

The Panama hat was sold in Panama, not made there.

Before the Panama Canal was constructed, this was still the most strategic connection between the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean because of its location between the South and North America. It was the perfect place for gold miners to pick up supplies and one of the main things they desired was a hat which would allow air to flow through it and offer protection from the heat of the sun at the same time. What could be more perfect than the Panama hat, or a hat woven from palm straws (paja toquilla)?  Remember that transportation of that day was not what it is today. You rode on horseback and then took a ship so a hat that protected the head and maintained its good lucks was just what you wanted. The Ecuadorians had the product, but not the traffic. In fact they had very little tourism or traffic so Panama became the perfect place to market their wares. It was just a few hundred miles away.

When the satisfied customer, who is wearing the straw woven hat, is asked by others where he/she got the hat the response was always Panama, thus the name the straw hat or sombreros de paj toquilla was referred to as became the Panama hat. During the gold strike of 1949 the strong, lightweight, attractive Panama hat became very popular.

Montecristi and Jipijapa excelled at making quality Panama hats.

Two towns in Manabi; Montecristi and Jipijapa gained pre-eminence as the leading place for the manufacture of the highest quality of hats woven anywhere. They became the hats to be desired more so than any other similar hats and were referred to as Montecristis and Jipijapas.

The Panama hat protects the wearer from the weather.

The cool white straw would deflect the heat of the sun, or if you prefer the warmth of the sun on your head, the hat comes in darker colors too.

Take this black Panama hat for example.

Look at the beautiful workmanship of this hat. The woven hat is easily maintained. It can be rolled up in a suitcase and taken out at a moment’s notice and look just as good as it did the day you bought it. It will not sustain a wrinkle. Another amazing thing about the hat is that it will conform to the head size of the wearer providing comfort and style.

Straw hats are for young and old alike.

With all the concern of sun damage to our skin and the risk of cancer, a Panama hat is a wonderful solution to protecting the head and face from ultraviolet rays. The cool hat offers protection from the heat and sun while also providing air circulation due to the structure of the hat. So it is wonderful to know that they have been created in smaller sizes, small enough for your toddler.

Now your toddler can have a hat just like you and you can feel better about their protection against the sun.  A Panama hat should be a staple part of everyone’s wardrobe, even if they we did forget to give credit to Ecuador.