Panama Hat Thread

[swaviator]

Here is a link on my website about Jon and his winning of the Wiley Post Spirit Award: http://www.taxi-strip.com/JonJohanson.html[/URL]

Bob

 

[Lefty]

From Mad Men, season 2, episode 6. It's not exactly the same, but it looks like Don is has been lurking.

Note the spool of ribbon in this case that matches the ribbon on my milan from Optimo - which I was wearing. Gary recognized it right away and told me that he and Graham had a ribbon swap about 10 years ago. The ribbon on my Optimo started in Gary's shop.

 

[jimmy the lid]

From Mad Men, season 2, episode 6. It's not exactly the same, but it looks like Don is has been lurking.

lol lol lol

 

[BobC]

Hmmm. Isn't that interesting. I think we all have pretty good taste.

 

[High Pockets]

WooHoo!
It's five degrees outside, (not that celcius stuff either!),...I just finished talking to Robert on the phone and ordered my first Montecristi Extra-fino for this coming summer!

I feel warmer already!!

 

[swaviator]

WooHoo!
It's five degrees outside, (not that celcius stuff either!),...I just finished talking to Robert on the phone and ordered my first Montecristi Extra-fino for this coming summer!

I feel warmer already!!

I've been wistfully looking at my five Panama's. We have had a blizzard and it's been down around zero (non-celcius) for days here in Oklahoma City and I'm ready for my linen suit and the proper topper. I've been wearing fur-felt fedoras and a London Fog tweed Fedorda that's quite warm. Missing my straw.

 

[daizawaguy]

Luckily, Daizawaguy's hat was in the box. Wait 'til you see this one!

Well, just a sneak preview allowed at this stage...

Just got my hat back from Art today

 

[daizawaguy]

 

[cookie]

Good one DGuy ...you are now ready to reprise the role of Kim Quisado (Ponce Ponce) in Hawaiian Eye?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Eye

 

[daizawaguy]

Good one Cookie. Here`s a shot for you guys down under...lol

 

[MisterGrey]

Question: Is the "Optimo" considered simply a different block of the panama hat, like teardrop/center/etc? Or is it another hat altogether, which is simply associated with the panama because of its makeup? I am planning on getting a straw hat later this year, and am trying to decide on the "fedora-like" panama or the Optimo. Do either have connotations to them, ie, a formality hierarchy? I've never owned an Optimo, but am worried that: 1) It would be too casual to go with suits, and 2) That the rounded top wouldn't look good with my face.

Here are some pics of me in my current stingy-brim panama (I suppose it's a panama; does it refer specifically to hats made in the Panama region, or does it describe the style itself?) for opinions on whether an Optimo would suit me:

 

[Tom-n-Perris]

Question: Is the "Optimo" considered simply a different block of the panama hat, like teardrop/center/etc? Or is it another hat altogether, which is simply associated with the panama because of its makeup? I am planning on getting a straw hat later this year, and am trying to decide on the "fedora-like" panama or the Optimo. Do either have connotations to them, ie, a formality hierarchy? I've never owned an Optimo, but am worried that: 1) It would be too casual to go with suits, and 2) That the rounded top wouldn't look good with my face.

Here are some pics of me in my current stingy-brim panama (I suppose it's a panama; does it refer specifically to hats made in the Panama region, or does it describe the style itself?) for opinions on whether an Optimo would suit me:

MisterGrey
To answer your first question about the Optimo style hat, you are correct it is "considered simply a different block of the panama hat, like teardrop/center/etc." The choice of Optimo or Fedora is pure choice on your part. I would choose if it were me, the Optimo style simply do to the fact that you don't see many Optimos and I like to set myself apart from the crowd. Also in my opinion the Optimo does go well with a nice summer suit and is a very classy look.
I am paraphrasing from another source but the Optimo is considered to be the classic Panama Hat Style. This style became became very popular among British travelers and in other areas such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, India along with other areas throughout the tropics. The Optimo fashion of Panama hats are more popular in the United Kingdom than in the United States. Here are pictures of the Optimo Panama hat in some movies;

Casablanca with Sydney Greenstreet

The Man Who Would Be King with Sean Connery

Just Cause with Sean Connery

And our very own here on FL BobC with an Optimo

Here is a short history from Wickipedia about the Panama hat.


A Panama hat or just Panama is a traditional brimmed hat of Ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the toquilla straw plant (Carludovica palmata). Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe. For some products, the name of their point of international sale rather than their place of domestic origin stuck, hence “Panama hats.”[1] The 49ers picked up these hats in Panama, and when President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Panama Canal construction, he wore such a hat, which increased its popularity. They're also known as a Jipijapa, named for a town in Ecuador once a center of the hat trade. The Oxford English Dictionary cites a use of the term as early as 1834.[2]
Glorified during the 19th century, the Panama has since been considered the prince of straw hats. Ecuadorian national hero and emblematic figure, Eloy Alfaro helped finance his liberal revolution of Ecuador through the export of panamas. The reputation of the hat was established by Napoleon III, Edward VII, and some other aficionados.

 

[indycop]

Tom since you had to go showin off that ribbon again, I hope you have some left!

 

[Lefty]

Are we gonna have to start another club?

 

[RBH]

Heres a shot from last summer of my PanamaBob/Art Fawcett classic or colonial panama.
And I have rolled this hat for travel, with no ill effects.
BUT I dont leave it rolled up, I only roll it for the length of travel time.
The most you will have to do after unrolling is dampen the hat in a spot or two and let dry.

 

[indycop]

Are we gonna have to start another club?

NO!!! Not til I can be in it too!

 

[High Pockets]

The big brown truck just delivered what I thought would be this summer's Panama "beater", but oh no,......it dropped off a really nice Cuenca instead!

A sweet little Cuenca for casual wear.

I suppose I have start looking for a "beater" all over again,....or as my wife would put it; "I need to go shopping."

This is one of Bob's specials he occasionally tosses in the 'bay.

 

[Selvaggio]

Good one Cookie. Here`s a shot for you guys down under...lol

THAT is a magnificent hat! Looks like amazing quality and bursting with personality and individuality.

I would love to own a hat like that - apart from the style aspects, it would be perfect for the warm sticky summers we experience down here. Goodbye to sweat head.

 

[MisterGrey]

What is the usual response time when sending an inquiry to Panama Bob? I wrote him five days ago, but haven't heard back, and based on the positive feedback here at the lounge am wondering if perhaps it didn't go through, or if this is a particularly busy time of year and I need to be a bit more patient.

 

[Spatterdash]

I sent an email last week to his email address at the site, and heard back that evening. Within two days he had a Diamante with a 2 1/2 inch brim ready to ship, and I paid him.

Email again. He'll get back to you, and will do what he can to get you what you need, while providing some great options.