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The History of Panama Hats

Panama hats are made exclusively in Ecuador and are woven by hand from a plant called the Toquilla.

The Panama hat has been worn for centuries with its origins being traced back as far as the 16th Century when the Incas were the first to use the Toquilla plant to produce hats. The hat in fact only became known as the Panama when over a century ago the workers involved in the construction of the Panama Canal used the elegant fibre hats as protection against the burning sun.

In the 18th Century Panama hats found their way into the United States. During the American-Spanish war (1898) the US government 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 World Exhibition in Paris. The finest hat was presented to the then Emperor of France Napoleon III and has been much sought after by Royalty ever since.

In England much encouraged by royal patronage, the Panama quickly became known as the most fashionable summer hat and remains so to this day.

Exorbitant prices have been paid for Panama hats over the years, sums that equated to a three-month holiday, or the purchase of a small farm. Prince Edward VII parted with Ł90.00 after asking his Bond Street hatter to obtain the "finest Panama available".

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

Although the post war period saw a marked decline in the overall popularity of the Panama hat, it is now seeing a return to its original highly regarded status, which can be largely attributed to its appearance in various period films and television series.

One important feature of the Panama is that every hat is unique. The weaving of the Panama hats is a cottage industry carried out primarily in the districts of Manabi and Azuay in Ecuador. A skill 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 price of up to Ł1000. Unfortunately this in no way reflects the many hours of work required of a craftsman to weave such a fine product.

The greatest weavers work only by the light of the moon or when the sky is overcast. Constantly dipping their sharp pointed fingers in water, they split the fibre razor thin, and with all the virtuosity 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 have a silk, creamy smooth texture in which the weave is barely perceptible, but if held up to the light, a spiral of rings will be seen spanning out from the apex of the crown.

These concentric rings or vueltas indicate where new strands have been started in the weaving process. It is the number of vueltas that determines the quality of the Panama. In the cheaper and most common quality that might take a day or two to weave, there may be up to ten "vueltas" whereas in the finer quality or "finos" there could be as many as forty.

The panamas are usually imported directly from Ecuador in their hood form. These are then blocked by specialist hat factories into a variety of shapes, with the most popular shape being the folding panama. This hat has the distinctive ridge running from front to back over the crown enabling the hat to be folded and rolled up for storage or travel.

Another aspect of the history of the Panama hat is the tradition of the black band, which is used to trim the majority of panamas. This originates from the year 1901, the year that saw the death of Queen Victoria.

In 1985, the Conran Foundation selected the Panama hat for its Boilerhouse Project at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as being one of the "100 best designs ever", a belated tribute to Francisco Delago who is said to have originated the Panama in the Manabi district of Ecuador in the 17th Century.

Another name synonymous with fine quality Panamas is Montecristi, a small town in Ecuador where to this day the finest quality panamas are still woven.

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