In the summertime, it is quite difficult to maintain your sanity and a sober mind. Blame the scorching sun! Before you have time to look back, your head will bake and a sunstroke will happen. But there is a salvation – a headdress or a hat with large edges around the perimeter. Today we will talk about the Panama hat, the history and essence of which is not as simple as it seems at first glance.
Panama history
Despite the fact that the name of the hat makes us remember one small, eponymous Central American country Panama, in fact, the Panama hat has nothing to do with it.
Panama gained its popularity during the construction of the Panama Canal among American builders
The point is that this headdress gained fame during the construction of the Panama Canal among American builders. They, accordingly, brought a considerable number of Panamas home. In the South American world, this hat is better known as the 'sombrero de paja toquilla' or simply 'straw hat', and its real homeland is in Ecuador, in the small town of Pile in the west of the country. Experts say that the highest quality and most comfortable panamas in the world are woven there.
Types of Panama
Despite the potential simplicity of this product, its types are huge. Each type goes well with a certain style, and in some places complements it with freshness and a kind of freedom. We have chosen one of many classifications as an example.
- Bossa Blue is the embodiment of the symbiosis of elegance and simplicity. This hat is perfect for the measured city life on hot days and looks very organic with most styles. And a beach look with a Hawaiian shirt and shorts, and a casual suit with it will not hurt your eyes, but on the contrary – will look very nice.
Panama Boosa Blue
- Diamante is the main competitor of Bose Blue, because her versatility borders in its absoluteness with the previous representative of this list. Actually, they differ only in that Diamante's fields are straight, while Bos Blue's, on the contrary, are slightly bent in the back. Without giving a head start to its rival, this hat combines perfectly with almost everything and looks confident on any head.
Panama Diamante
- Gamber is almost a crown. With this handsome man on your head, you can do business with serious people while remaining an elegant man in a white suit. When you wear this hat, all your requests and ideas become proposals that cannot be refused. And I don’t want to, in general.
Panama Gamber
- Fedora-Kalado is a hat for a gentleman who went on holiday in hot weather. Now you can stroll in style on the shore of the endless sea under the gentle streams of a light breeze with a glass of cocktail in hand, in summer white trousers and a light light shirt.
Panama Fedora Kalado
- The Outback Macana is a great choice for Australian crocodile hunters and urban cowboys. If you like to spend the night by the fire in a deep forest, fishing, traveling wild in tropical countries, or simply emphasizing your brutality, then this headdress is perfect for you.
Panama Outback Macana
How to choose a Panama
The quality of a hat depends most of all on two factors: the quality of the straw and the quality of the weaving. Straw is harvested from palm fibers and the most important thing in the selection of material is not so much the type of wood, but the selection of these very straws. It is important that they are as similar as possible to each other in both thickness and length. Only in this case it will be possible to weave a truly strong Panama. The quality of weaving and the density of weaving per square centimeter play an equally (if not more) important role in this matter. The higher the density, the higher the quality. Everything is logical!
The higher the density, the higher the quality of the Panama
Most often Panamas are divided into 'Montecristi Fino' and 'Montecristi Superfino' (the best and even better). This should determine the quality of weaving, but these terms are so vague and so freely used by some unscrupulous traders in the markets of beautiful Latin American cities that it is practically useless to navigate through them. Even large manufacturers have not agreed on this issue among themselves. In order not to look at the vague designations, you can simply take and count the number of weaves per square centimeter. Tedious, difficult, but works.
In addition to the above quality criteria, there is one more – the so-called vuelta. Vuelta are circles that appear around the edges of the hat when it is facing a bright light source. For example, the sun. If you believe the legends of some Latin American sages, then the more circles and the larger they themselves, the higher the quality of the product. This method is probably good to some extent, but I really do not advise you to take risks.
Panama prices
There is no limit to perfection, but the hatters do. The highest quality panamas have about two thousand weaves per square centimeter. Such insanely reverent and time-consuming work takes from the master from four to six months a year. Considering how long it takes for one such hat and the fact that there are a dozen of such hatters left in the world, it should not surprise anyone that the price will be cosmic.
Panama prices can start from a few tens of dollars to many thousands
However, for comfortable wearing in a short period of time, a panama with three or four hundred weaves will be enough and its price is unlikely to exceed a hundred dollars.
Panama care and storage
A real Panama can be inherited even by your grandchildren, if you pay due attention to it. Here are some tips:
- First, watch out for the band on your hat. It protects it from stretching and your forehead from scratches.
- Secondly, avoid wearing in the rain and in general any contact with water, these hats are very poor at tolerating moisture. Store in a dry place.
- Third, take the hat by the top only, not by the brim. It can greatly affect the shape.
- Fourth, use a soft-bristled brush when cleaning.
By following these tips, you can extend the life of your hat for years.
Hatter etiquette
Great power is hidden in Panama, and, as you know, great responsibility comes with great power. Therefore, it is worth adhering to a number of rules that must be followed not only by the owner of Panama, but also by the owner of any headdress.
First you need to learn how to take off your hat on time. If you are not a king, tsar or shah, then it is better to remove the headdress when entering someone else's dwelling, holy or religious places. When greeting someone (especially a woman), it is also better to take off your hat, but as a sign of respect, you can get by by simply tearing it off your head a couple of centimeters. The hat should also be taken off when going to the theater, cinema or to a big concert, so that none of those present will spoil the view. In the workplace, it is also better to go without a hat, if it is not part of the uniform.
When greeting someone, just raise your hat a couple of centimeters as a sign of respect
The hat can be left on when going to a bar, restaurant or nightclub. For some business meetings, this approach is also welcome.
Finally
Today we looked at such a simple on the one hand, but such a multifaceted Panama hat. It will become an indispensable summer accessory whether you walk in shorts along the coast or at a business meeting. Not many accessories can boast of such versatility, so we can safely recommend a Panama hat for people who collect a universal men's wardrobe.
