The Panama Hat

The panama hat has become a worldwide symbol of relaxed tropical vacations. It can be an excellent way to keep the sun off your face. However, beware that in some parts of the world (for example, near me while I am writing this article) wearing a panama hat can result in being challenged to a dance off.

Creative Commons picture by Kevin Hutchinson.

The panama hat is a fedora-like straw hat, often made in white. Supposedly the really good ones can be folded up without sustaining any damage. However, trying to collapse them has damaged every panama hat that I have ever had.

In a cruel trick of naming, the panama hat actually originated from Ecuador. People in Ecuador wove them and shipped them to the rest of the world via panama. Simply because panama was a way point on the hat’s journey, the hat was named the “panama hat.”

Once it was discovered that the hat could make almost anybody look relaxed they really took off. [Note: These hats do not have the same effect on dogs. It just makes dogs look more tense and awkward.]

The association of this hat with warm Latin locals also has it’s detractions. It is important to be aware that when people see you in this hat they expect you to be a good dancer. It just goes with the style. That can lead to high-risk dance offs and people of the opposite gender throwing themselves at you - helpless to your suave moves.