Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette!
Today's video is all about Panama hats; I discuss the shapes, what to buy, what not
to buy, how it got its name, how it's made, and what to pay attention to, and anything
else you want to know about this wonderful summer hat.
What is a Panama hat?
Basically, it is a white summer hat that is woven from the straw of the Toquilla Palm.
Even though it's called Panama hat, it's originally made in Ecuador and it has never been made
in Panama.
In Ecuador, it's better known as the SOMBRERO DE PAJA TOQUILLA which means as much as straw
hat.
Panama hats have been woven in Ecuador since the 17th century and they've been imported
since the 19th century to Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
So how did the Panama hat got its name?
During the 1834 Gold Rush in Canada, when miners went from South America to Canada,
they saw those hats in Panama and so they got their name.
On top of that, Theodore Roosevelt popularised the hat style and
even cemented the Panama name when he was wearing one observing the Panama Canal and
of course, being photographed.
So how is a Panama made?
Basically, you take the core fibers of the toquilla plant which are also known as cogollos.
The cogollos are the hearts of the palm tree and they're carefully separated by hand and
then briefly boiled.
Since they're wet, they have to be sun dried or air dried and once that's done, the fiber
is bleached with sulfur smoke to give it the original Panama light color.
Sometimes, you can also find uncoloured hats but they have a much more yellow appearance.
To get really fine hats, the palm tree fibers are split into even finer
straw fibers.
The weaving of a Panama hat begins at the center of the crown.
Once the crown is large enough, it's put in a dry pot and woven on top of a hat block
at about waist height.
Once the weave extends past the size of the hat block, the weaver adds additional blocks
on top and pulls down the weave so it stays in place and it gets that hat shape.
The entire process is physically quite tiring and depending on how fine your hat is, it
can take anywhere from a few weeks up to several months to create one hat.
Once the weaver gets to the edge of the brim, it's typically handed off to other artisans
who finish the hat.
Traditionally, a Panama hat has a loose back weave which is much more elegant than a cut
and sewn edge.
So when you want a quality hat, look for that edge because if it's back woven, it's of a
much higher quality than if it’s cut and sewn.
Typically, you have one person who starts the back weave, a second one that tightens
it, and the third one cuts off the loose straw so it has a polished nice finish.
If you have a very fine hat, they keep that excess straw and use it to maybe make repairs
later.
In the next step, the hats are washed and bleached with sulfur to make them softer and
more suitable to wear as a wonderful summer hat.
Subsequently, the hats are blocked or either brought to the US to head blockers who then
get the hat the right shape.
In my experience, the hats that come directly out of Ecuador usually have a very small range
of different styles and shapes and are very limited.
Because of that, quality panama hats are usually brought raw at this stage to the US or to
other countries which are then blocked by an experienced head blocker who can get exactly
the shape the customer demands.
Traditionally, every Panama hat was woven by hand but due to a high demand, most hats
these days are machine woven.
Now that you know how a Panama hat is made, let's discuss the quality hallmarks.
Basically, it comes down to straw and weave; the finer the straw, the more equal all the
fibers are, and the more evenly they're colored, the higher the quality of the hat.
Just take a look at these two hats and you can clearly see the color differences.
This one is more valuable than that one.
When it comes to the weave, a finer denser weave that's more regular is more desirable
than a looser wider weave that's more irregular.
Traditionally, hats are categorized in Montecristi Fino or Montecristi superfino, however, those
terms are not protected and so it pays to actually count the weaves per square inch
to get a good idea of what you're buying in terms of quantity.
The highest-quality hats in the market have about 2,000 to 4,000 weaves or knots per square
inch, that's an extremely high number and it can take 8 to 12 months for those hats
to be completed.
Of course, these hats are very rare and there are not many people who can weave them anymore.
One of them is ______ who I think exclusively now weaves for one weaver and one store in
the world, so you can really only get it from him and to my knowledge, he's the best weaver
alive today.
Back in the day, there was a specific grading system that everybody would abide by however
today, that's not really the case anymore and so rather than looking at the old way
to do it, it pays to simply count the diamond points.
In Ecuador, these diamond points are called Carreras, you should always measure them one
inch in from the brim or two and a half centimeters because that gives you an accurate count.
Sometimes, people count them in the middle or the top of the crown, however, that's wrong
because it usually has a higher density and it throws up the numbers.
Another Panama hat grading criteria is sometimes the vueltas which are the concentric circles
they can see on the brim when you hold it against the Sun or a strong light source.
Here, you can see a few circles and the more you have, the more desirable it is, the higher
the quality.
Personally, I think it's easiest to look at a hat and look at the evenness in the color,
the evenness and fineness of the straw and the weave, and the knots or the weaves per
square inch.
So a decently Montecristi superfino will probably run you around 300 to 500 or 600 dollars depending
on the quality of the straw, the color, the weave, and the final look.
The most expensive panama hats in the world can fetch anywhere from twenty to thirty thousand
dollars.
Entry level hats can be very inexpensively starting at twenty dollars all the way up
to a hundred dollars depending on the finishing, the brand, the look, the hatband, and the
quality of the straw.
In terms of styles, probably the most popular one is the fedora style and if you want to
learn more about the fedora, please check out this in-depth guide here.
The second style is the optimo style which is distinctly British and it's characterized
by a slight dent through the middle of the crown.
The third most popular style is the planter style which has a wide brim which protects
you more from the Sun and a molded crown.
The fourth style is the gold Panama hat which oftentimes features an open weave because
it's so open, you get a better airflow especially in breezy conditions.
So where should you buy quality panama hats?
Please check the guide on our website here.
Where you can find the best hats for your money in different price categories.
So what should you pay attention to when you buy a Panama hat?
First, verify if it's a handmade hat and the original origin of the hat which can be quite
tricky but if you go with a reputable hatter or hat store, you'll know they come from Ecuador.
Ideally, you should buy for quality and longevity not for price.
One thing that's often underestimated is the shape of the Panama hat.
The hat to your right is the typical Panama shape that you find all over the place.
No matter if your hat is $1,000 or $100, it'll always look like that.
The one on your left is a vintage hat shape and it has a taller, higher crown, and in
my opinion, a much more attractive curved shape.
The problem is if you get a hat like this one on the right and the brim has a certain
size and the crown has a certain size you can't make it just into this shape.
You need a hat that actually has the crown height so pay attention to that because even
if you have a really finely woven hat, it won't make you look as dapper as a hat that's
maybe a lower quality but has a superb shape.
Don't be discouraged by the hatbands and the ribbons.
Most of them are black and come in very boring shapes but it's very easy to take them off
and have unusual colors in different shapes added for a very low price.
For example, for five bucks I got a green hatband in the shape I wanted, in the size
I wanted, it's actually a vintage band and I much prefer it to the standard conformist
black band that you see everywhere.
Traditional Fedora style panama hats usually feature a leather sweatband, which in my opinion,
is not ideal because it's a hat you wear during warmer seasons and as such, with a leather
you're more prone to sweating.
In my case, I have zits on my forehead and to prevent that, I either opt for a cloth
headband or I go completely without one.
When you buy hats sometimes, you find those hat boxes and they're usually more for decorative
purposes and traditionally, sometimes, it was a hallmark to show that a hat was so soft
that you could roll it and put it in there but if you have a nicely blocked hat, don't
roll it up and put it in those boxes because you'll destroy the hat.
MY PANAMA HATS One is the standard Panama hat in a nice even
color, the weave is nice and dense but the straw is not superfine, however, its back
woven and it has a fabric sweatband.
Golf style with air holes which is particularly nice when you're exercising and play golf
or do other things in the summer and it comes with a nice dark tobacco brown sweat band
which I think looks much better than a black one.
Last but not least, they sent me this wonderful Montecristi superfino which is a very nice
and dense weave, beautifully back woven brim.
Personally, I prefer different colored ones.
It takes sometimes six months to make these hats because of that, it doesn't make sense
to stock them and so they rather list individual hats so you can see the exact weave count,
you can see the color, you can see the shape, and everything there is to that particular
montecristi.
Once it's sold, it's gone.
When can you wear a Panama hat?
Basically, all the time.
I'm wearing it here with a seersucker suit however you can go with a simple pair of swim
trunks maybe with just a polo shirt just a shirt because the main purpose is to keep
your head out of the Sun and it's a summer hat and because of that you can really wear
it with everything in your wardrobe.
it's probably the most versatile hat you'll ever own.
So what about Panama etiquette?
When should you not wear a Panama hat?
Just like what we already know from our fedora hat guide, you should not wear a hat when
you are in places of worship or in people's homes unless of course it's a public building
like a railway station then you can keep it on.
Generally, it's not a great idea to wear a hat and sunglasses, however, with the Panama
hat it's slightly different because you wear it when it's really bright outside and if
even the wide brim can't protect your face simply go with sunglasses even Prince Charles
does it.
In today’s video, I'm Wearing of course a Panama hat which is a Montecristi superfino
with a green hatband then I'm having a white super thin light dress shirt which is very
breathable and it's from Milan it's paired with a seersucker suit single breasted three-button
from Polo Ralph Lauren it has cuffs or turn ups on the pants which helps to pull down
the pants so they hang a little more nicely it's made out of a hundred percent cotton
no added polyester or nylon and it has the traditional crinkle seersucker cut if you
want to learn more about this material please check out our seersucker guide on the website
here.
I'm pairing it with a cri de la soie silk knit tie from Fort Belvedere that is mottled
in its appearance and it's perfect for summer I'm pairing it with a shinier silk pocket
square in orange from printed English silk also from Fort Belvedere which you can find
in our shop here for the socks I added a dash of color and went with solid blue ones with
a clock pattern which are also from Fort Belvedere you could alternatively go with all white
socks especially if you wear white buckskin shoes the way I do it which are from shoe
passion and I'm combining them with green shoelaces from Fort Belvedere to just break
up that look and add a little more contrast as you might notice I'm wearing barrel cuffs
not cufflinks because it's warm in the summer and that cufflinks tend to make you feel hotter
instead of the cufflinks I'm going with a pinky ring that is blue that picks up the
colors of the seersucker suit as you can see the lapels are quite slim so a large boutonniere
would not be in order however a small one such like delphinium or another small flower
would look perfect on it if you enjoyed this video make sure to subscribe to our Channel
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