Let me specify at once that the young people in oversized t-shirts with massive gold chains on their necks wearing baseball caps backwards should rather not bother reading this article and continue to prepare for the electronics store robbery.

But, if you prefer a Hawaiian shirt on a warm summer day, our further communication definitely makes sense. After all, we will consider kind of the most elegant accessories of men’s summer wardrobe, namely – Panama hat.

The name of this headdress prompts us immediately about its country of origin, but gentlemen know that weighty questions always have quick and incorrect answers.

In fact, the Panama hat gained its name and incredible popularity in 1906, when the then American President Theodore Roosevelt came to the Panama Canal construction and appeared in front of journalists in a snow-white straw hat. The very next day, the Panama hat was on the newspaper’s front pages around the world, and immediately became an iconic headdress.

It is not clear in which part of South America the Panama hat was born, but the best straw hats are still handmade in Ecuador. Simpler and cheaper hats are woven in Cuenca. In our area, such an accessory will cost you from 100 to 150 euros.

But if you really appreciate and love your head and are ready to spend money on it on the highest quality hat, then you should go straight to Montecristi, where unsurpassed Fino hats from the finest straw are born. Right here such famous companies as English Lock & Co and Italian Borsalino produce their most upscale Panama hats. And it is notable that I used the word “born”, because it can take up to nine months to weave just one hat from the Superfino Montecristi collection.

Prices for such specimens start from 500 euros, and in the most exclusive version, a straw hat can cost you more than 1000 euros. But believe me, despite the number of zeros in the price tag, these hats are worth it. After all, the quality, the subtlety of weaving, the processing of straws, and the brims shape, will depend on how stylish the hat will flaunt on your head.

By the way, if necessary, and this is impossible to replace during travel, it can even be rolled up into a tube and hidden in a special case without any further consequences. 

And now a word about the design of this gentleman’s headdress. There are not so many classic types of panama hats: Fedora, Optimo, Planter and Golf. They differ in the crown and brim shape.

The Fedora shape is considered canonical and is finished with a dark ribbon on the crown outside and a leather ribbon on the inside. The Optima shape has an easy-to-read accent of colonial England, and you can easily recognize it by the slight indentation at the crown top. The Planter has a wider brim, which is good for saving in hot sunny weather, even if you are not a planter. Well, if you are a big fan of golf, and maybe even a winner of The Open Championship, then you simply can not do without Panama Golf. Its crown has a noticeable decorative weave, which allows you to unmistakably distinguish a golfer from, for example, a diver or a simple layman.

Once again, we are talking about the canonical forms of this elegant accessory, but some manufacturers allow themselves to play with the crown depth, the shape and width of the brim, which sometimes leads to complete confusion in the purpose of a particular hat.

The other week, in a store I was offered to try on hats named Monte Carlo and Downing Street, which made me a little embarassed. I admit that under certain circumstances, I can give a stranger the impression of an avid casino gambler (which, of course, is not true), but I certainly cannot be confused with the Prime Minister of Great Britain. However, I was not offended by such associations, but I politely declined to buy hats.

And finally… this should become for you a seen need rather than an iron rule. If you do not wear a hat with sufficient confidence and pleasant ease, you will not look so elegant. And in this case, I strongly recommend turning to black-and-white photos to be inspired by classic images. And if you still have doubts, just pretend you are Cary Grant.