Hats?

[Bugbear]

My preferred hat, kilted or no, in the summer is a good quality panama. They last for ever (well, ten or more years if you take a bit of care with your things), and take on a character of their own. Love 'em.

I've been reading up on panama hats. There seem to be a large number of fake panamas out there. There also seem to be extremely expencive real panama hats. This will take a good deal of sorting and research, but I am looking into the subject.

[Carolina Kiltman]

I've been reading up on panama hats. There seem to be a large number of fake panamas out there. There also seem to be extremely expencive real panama hats. This will take a good deal of sorting and research, but I am looking into the subject.

Yes, they are expensive, but like the hand made kilt, well worth the price. With a little care, they will last for years, and are much more flexible than the cheaper types.

Another case of you get what you pay for. I might add, a tartan hat band makes a nice touch. (Not necessarily with the Kilt, though.)

[Bugbear]

Yes, they are expensive, but like the hand made kilt, well worth the price. With a little care, they will last for years, and are much more flexible than the cheaper types.

Another case of you get what you pay for. I might add, a tartan hat band makes a nice touch. (Not necessarily with the Kilt, though.)

Well... There were some that were...
in the ten-thousand dollar range.
Investment? Perhaps... A hat for daily wear? Um, no.

[Carolina Kiltman]

Well... There were some that were...
in the ten-thousand dollar range.
Investment? Perhaps... A hat for daily wear? Um, no.

Yikes! I paid, I think, about $40 for my last one about 10 years back.ith:

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Well... There were some that were...
in the ten-thousand dollar range.
Investment? Perhaps... A hat for daily wear? Um, no.

For ten thousand dollars I would expect the hatter to fly me to Ecuador, personally weave the hat around my head as I sat there, feed me peeled grapes, show me how the Jivero Indians shrink heads, offer me his daughter, AND give me half of his hat company.

My Panamas cost about $200, and last about 10 years. That works out to about $20 per year, which is about what a cheapo straw hat costs.

[Bugbear]

Guess when people start bidding it gets out of control...
Two-hundred dollars was about the range of most of the panamas, and that would be for the hand woven, fine strand type. It's quite a process they go through, so I can understand that. I don't have the spelling of the name of the area handy, but I read that there were only twenty master hat makers left who are able to make the highest quality hats. I can see how having one of those hats would be a collector's investment... slightly like rare coins and so on.

* I think it was montecristi, Ecuador. Hmmm, shrunken heads... sporrans... *

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

I get mine from Christy's, in London.

[JRB]

I've read that the best Panama hats are actually woven while submerged in a tank of water (the hat not the weaver). I'm not sure if it's true but it makes the hat seem more exotic.

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Yes, and my Morgan has leather pistons...

[Bugbear]

Here we go:

Christy of London Caps from Shushan's

The panama hats are down the page in the summer hats section. There are many other hats offered as well.