Panama Hat Thread

[Aureliano]

Optimo Hat company sells some of the best panamas you will find. Hand picked with an almost OCD attention to weave perfection and quality consistency. Brent Black, too. He sells hats woven by the best weaver alive. His are unvelievably fine and expensive. Google him. Both places totally worth your money.

 

[rlk]

Question: Optimo Hats' Montecristi Panamas. Good/Bad? I understand that if I were to ask whether it's "worth" the price, there isn't a correct answer because only I can answer that, but I suppose what I mean by good/bad is how it is in relation to other Panamas for the same price (495 I think).

Opinions, anyone?

If WPSI(weaves per square inch) is your standard-the Optimo will have a lower count at that price than PanamaBob for example, so good/bad is also a matter of opinion. How your hat is prepared, blocked and finished is also a factor harder to see but also important, and can be done by a custom hatter rather than the supplier of the body.

 

[alanfgag]

They both say "Genuine Panama," but I haven't a clue if that is real or if it is just a sales gimmick?

Anyone have any input on if these are good straws?

Anyway, I like them whether they are "officially" good or not!

The branded panamas that I've seen are not exceptionally fine in weave, but can be nice - your Lee looks to be a good example in great shape. Some have a country of origin stamp on the straw inside. I believe both of these hats are earlier than 1960.

 

[hatophile]

And well you should like 'em. Those are two very nice older Panama's ! Both look to be Cuenca's with the Stetson being a Brisa weave and the Lee a Llano weave. Wear them proudly

I agree, very nice and wearable.

 

[GamaH]

So I just saw this picture on Brent Black's website..

Holy crap? D=

I just spent 45mins reading his "How Monte Cristis are made/born" section of his website.

 

[alanfgag]

Ironing Day for my straws

I bought quite a few straws this past winter. Two were somewhat expensive ($150ish) and in mint condition (they are not shown here). All of the others were reasonable, mostly $25 - $50 with a couple (not the finest weaves) at $75. All were in good condition, though in need of some work. Yesterday was a rainy day - perfect for getting my collection of hats into good form for the warm days ahead.

I had cleaned and sized the hats when they first arrived. Most of the work left to do was shaping of the brims which had become floppy, curled or droopy from years of wear. I used our steam iron for this, with the hats on a clean kitchen towel on our stone kitchen countertop and using a clean cotton cloth between the iron and the straw.

Here are a few "after" pictures.

Work in process in the hat shop (doubles as our dining room):

1. The optimos... from the left, Montecristis from the Rossen Hat shop (Pittsburgh) and Hand the Hatter (Boston) - these two are the finest weaves in the group. A coarser weave panama from Peoria, IL on the right.

2. Panama fedoras... on the left, Panama Bob open weave, the only new straw I own. It arrived needing a pinch. On the right, a Supernatural with navy pug, also from a Peoria store.

3. Branded panamas... from left to right, Lee from Broadstreet's in Chicago, Dobbs and Brooks Brothers.

4. Milans... the brims on these had gotten very swoopy... the ironing helped a lot. left - Churchill narrow brim, right - Dobbs venitlated (pugaree removed).

5. Milan porkies... left, unbranded from the Bon Marche, right, silver gray "Frankie" Knox fifteen.

Bring on the heat!

 

[Lefty]

Great photos and very well-varied collection.

 

[Aureliano]

Great photos and very well-varied collection.

yup, what Lefty said. Agreed!

 

[delectans]

Straw paradise! Great work, Alan.

 

[cookie]

So I just saw this picture on Brent Black's website..

Holy crap? D=

Can you believe the WPSI on the hat in that pic? 1200+?

 

[GamaH]

I don't know to be honest. I just know that it looks amazing. =P

 

[fmw]

Very nice stuff, Alan. You have terrific taste in hats.

 

[alanfgag]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

 

[sulla]

I am already working on changing the black gross grain band on my Panama to a different colored pug band mostly because I just want to and I was just reading the curse of Indiana Jones post and it got me thinking.

Anyone else had their Panama's likened to an Amish hat? Maybe I am just too close to Amish country. Nothing against the Amish, or very fine black hat bands. Heck, I have an Amish style straw hat... with a custom knitted hat band.

 

[James Pressley]

Ordered my first Panama Bob hat just now. My current Panama is a Colonel Littleton brand they used to offer years ago. It's a great hat and been a good hat. Just need/want something styled a bit different.

 

[DJH]

New Panama from Tom-n-Perris

With the warm weather finally arriving, I really wanted to get a nice Panama hat. Problem is, the whole thing was really confusing. While a lot of people here suggest Panama Bob, Robert's website is also confusing.

What saved the day was meeting up with Tom-n-Perris, one of the members here who makes a great Panama. Tom took the trouble to educate me and came up with a great plan for a couple of hats.

Here is the first, made of natural colour straw. When I opened the package, I was not pleased to see that despite Tom's excellent packing and the fact that the box was unmarked, the crown was pushed in on one side quite badly. I was thinking I'd have to return the hat to Tom for reblocking, but some steam got things right again.

Anyway, here is the hat Tom made - I'm very happy with it.

Thanks Tom!

 

[James Pressley]

WOW!!! Nice hat. That band really sets the whole thing off!

 

[DJH]

Thanks James. I'm hugely impressed with the quality of Tom's work.

I love the shape of the hat and his ribbon work is first class.

I have one of Panama Bob's cheapo hats and wanted something that would be a nice step up. I think Tom gets the bodies from Robert, but how he finishes everything makes a big difference.

 

[fedoralover]

I love the green ribbon and the shape is exactly the type I like. Nice job.

I picked up this Monticristi and changed out the leather band and reshaped it, it's not too bad. It is a true Monti but not a super high weave count. However the price was right-- $57.00, not bad for a Monticristi.

fedoralover

 

[alanfgag]

great transformation on that one!