When do you break the Panama hat out for the 1st time?

[memphislawyer]

Memphis will see 70 degree weather for the most part of next week, and temps are expected now to stay in the 60's and stay there and go up, that is, no more of this 50ish weather. It is April 5th. Too early for me to break out the Panamas? Do you go by date (say May or June) or temps? People generally react favorably to me in my felt hats, but I don't want to stop to answer questions about a Panama and people asking why I am wearing a summer hat in April.

 

[Memo]

I broke mine out on Easter for the 1st time this year in vegas. I would say any day after march 19 if it calls for one.

 

[Alive'n'Amplified]

I went by the temp. When it broke 65+ in Atlanta I wore my Milan.

 

[stevew443]

I have always heard that one can begin wearing Panama hats after May 15th. That is a rule I live by, only to help promote an orderly society

 

[Blackthorn]

I only break mine out when it's over 80 degrees.

 

[hatophile]

75 - 80 degrees, but if we got a freak heat wave in Ohio in Feb I probably would still wear a felt. (One can only wish).

 

[job]

I don't go by dates. I go by temps. I do not like sweating up my felt hats so I'll wear something cooler regardless of the date.

 

[tonyb]

It's always happy hour somewhere.

 

[Jedwbpm]

It's always happy hour somewhere.

+1 Tony

Jeff
Living the Dream at
Delmonico Hatter

 

[Cattus Petasatus]

I broke mine out last week when we hit 80+. Then we had a cold snap and I went back to felt.

Since I live in North Texas we could either have snow or tornados tomorrow. I wear my hats based on what mother nature is doing outside.

 

[barrowjh]

I go by season, since putting away a 'set' of hats and breaking out another set is a task. I wear cav fedoras in the winter, which has lasted forever this year, just put them away last weekend to break out the thin-ribbons (cboy, OR, strats, San Ant, etc) and wear them until it is insufferably hot - usually about mid-June, then put most of them away and break out the straws for the summer. I go back to the thin-ribbons in the fall, probably by mid-September or October, and then back to the fedoras by December. The actual date of these change-outs is never fixed, but is driven by when I think it is time to do it based on the weather and the liklihood of a weather re-lapse. Often I will do a half-changeout one weekend and then the other half a week or two later because of the fickle weather. Winter lasted unusually long this year so when it warmed up last week I went ahead with a full change-out because it was overdue already anyway.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Wore my VS Milan OR today. When it gets into the 70's the Milan's and Panama's start to get into rotation.
Don't like sweating and over 70 degrees
and fur felt gets hot on my noggin.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[RBH]

It's always happy hour somewhere.

Wise words!

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^

Where'd you find that picture of my dear old Ma?

 

[mingoslim]

75 - 80 degrees, but if we got a freak heat wave in Ohio in Feb I probably would still wear a felt. (One can only wish).

If you remember, we DID have a freak heat wave in February in Ohio a couple of years back . . . a week in the 70s, or thereabouts... But I still didn't break out the panamas.

However, I think that panamas are fine anaytime after the vernal equinox, if the temp calls for them.

 

[RBH]

^^^^^

Where'd you find that picture of my dear old Ma?

 

[Genuine Classic Gangster]

When I am wearing an overcoat, which I do whenever the temperature is cold enough to justify it, I wear a felt hat.

When it becomes too hot to wear an overcoat, I wear a straw panama hat.

 

[tealseal]

Never.
Felts year 'round for me. Silverbelly or natural beaver during the day, option for greys/darker colours in the evenings. My hiking hat is a tawny fawn Fed IV.

 

[Rathdown]

As a believer in an orderly society I carry a pistol year round and only wear panamas after May 15th, and then only on weekends. Beginning with the Memorial Day weekend I wear panamas with linen and seersucker suits. Otherwise, like tealseal, it's light coloured felt hats.

 

[KingAndrew]

Growing up in Florida and Atlanta, we broke out the straw hats, seersucker, and white shoes at Easter and put them away after Labor Day. But I know up North they wait until May 15th or even Memorial Day. I reckon it's that the weather gets hot earlier in the South. It can be mighty sticky in April and you're awful glad for a seersucker suit and Panama hat, instead of your winter wools and felts.

Here in Shanghai, I don't have a straw hat yet. So when it got sunny and warm last week, I was forced to wear my grey Fed IV with my blue seersucker suit. It looked good, but it felt a little funny to me.

By the way, seersucker is the absolutely most comfortable suit to me. Someday I hope to have a whole closet of them, one in each color, so I can wear one every summer workday.