Panama Hats or The Panama Straw Hat

In the 18th Century Panama hats or the Panama Straw Hat establish their path into the United States. During the American-Spanish fighting (1898) the US administration ordered from Ecuador 50,000 "sombrero de paja toquilla" (hats of the toquilla plant), for their troops heading for the Caribbean. Earlier in 1855, a Frenchman living in Ecuador took some to the globe exhibit in Paris. The finest hat was presented to the then Emperor of France Napoleon III and has been much sought after by Royalty constantly since.

In England much encouraged by kingly patronage, the Panama fast became famous as the most chic summer hat and remains so to this day.

Extravagant prices have been paid for Panama hats by the years, sums that equated to a three-month holiday, or the acquire of a small farm. ruler Edward VII parted with $95.00 after asking his Bond Street hatter to acquire the "finest Panama available".

Its celebrity was further enhanced when in 1906 President Theodor Roosevelt was photographed exasperating a Panama hat whilst viewing the Panama Canal under construction.

Although the post war time saw a evident decline in the overall fame of the Panama hat, it is nowadays seeing a reinstate to its original highly regarded prestige, which can be extensively attributed to its presence in diverse period films and television series.

One important attribute of the Panama is that each hat is unique. The weaving of the Panama hats is a cottage trade activity carried out primarily in the districts of Manabi and Azuay in Ecuador. A craft that has been passed down from generation to generation.

Panama hats vary in the time they take to be woven. Some of the coarser woven hats may take a few hours whereas the finer hats from the towns of Biblian and Montecristi may take up to 5 months to weave, eventually fetching a retail cost of up to $1500. Unfortunately this in no way reflects the countless hours of labour demanded of a craftsman to weave such a fine creation.

The greatest weavers work just by the illumination of the moon or when the sky is overcast. continuously dipping their sharp pointed fingers in water, they break up the fibre razor thin, and with all the expertise of a spinning wheel, plait ring after ring of palm into fabric so soft and dense that it equals silk. The hats are then pummelled and trimmed and groomed and scrubbed.

The finest panamas keep a silk, creamy flat composition in which the weave is barely perceptible, but allowing held up to the blaze, a circular of rings will be seen spanning out from the apex of the crown.