The Myth, The Legend, The Panama Hat

You wear a lot of hats in life—literally and figuratively. When you're dedicated to island living under sunny skies, a great hat is a necessity. For those looking to rise above basic, hats are also a point of style. No shade to the go-to baseball cap (ours are a staple on and off the golf course!), but the crown of relaxed sophistication has to go to the Panama Hat.

WHAT MAKES PANAMA HATS THE BEST:

In the world of straw hats, the Panama Hat rises to its reputation—it's a masterpiece of quality and an ancient art that's stood up to the test of time. In fact, the process of making a Panama Hat is so revered, it was added to the UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2012! Each hat is still woven by hand, a skill handed down through generations in the villages of Ecuador. The finest ever made took nearly a thousand hours to complete! It has 4,000 herringbone weaves per square inch! That's a pretty special hat.

Amusingly enough, while Panama Hats were first bought, sold, and popularized in Panama (hence the name), they are woven in Ecuador from the fibers of the Paja Toquilla, deftly split into the thinnest strands by masterful weavers who often learned the art at the feet of their grandmothers and grandfathers. Let's just say that, in Ecuador, they do not call them Panama Hats!

When judging the quality of a Panama hat, the rule of thumb dictates that the more weaves per square inch, the more luxurious (and expensive) the hat. Authentic Panama hats like the ones we sell today come in a modern range of styles and colors that go well beyond the classic shape President Teddy Roosevelt made famous when he visited the Panama Canal, mid-construction, in 1906. Those hats were indispensable to protect workers (and presidents) from the punishing heat and sun.

Today, when you're strolling the beaches of Hawaii or sipping Champagne at an outdoor wedding, the Panama hat is indispensable for style points! So, we say pick the Panama Hat that suits your island style best, whether that's a classic Outback Hat, a safari hat with a little extra airflow, or, for the ladies, a fringed, wide-brim beauty that brings some fun to your casual glamour.