Panama Hat

Hats are back in fashion for men again in the past few years – thanks to stylish men like Leonard Cohen, Johnny Depp and err….Walter White (Breaking Bad). Bob has started wearing hat (apart from wool beanie!) a couple of years ago. A few years back I bought him a couple of trilbies so he can be faking bad when he goes out for his poker nights.

This summer he has fancied a straw hat for dog walking – straw trilby is fine but I think Panama is more stylish. So I bought him a straw Panama hat for his birthday this year.

I remember my grandfather (on my Dad’s side) wearing one for his outings when I was little. His Panama hat was finely woven (much better than Bob’s). When I look back I realise how neat and handsome he was, even when in his late 70s (he was over 6 foot tall). When he went out to one of his lunches with old army friends or to the temple, he would wear his Panama hat, a light coloured shirt with cotton vest underneath and his trousers were neatly pressed with sharp creases. He also carried a cane with silver handle.

Funnily, I just also learned that Panama hat originated in Ecuador but they were shipped from Panama to the rest of the world. The hats are graded by the numbers of weaves per square inch. My grandfather’s probably was one of the superfinos and made in Ecuador, I guess.