Despite its name, the genuine panama does not come from Panama: it is woven by hand in Ecuador from a plant fibre called paja toquilla. It is this tight, supple weave that gives the hat its lightness and its hold. The panamas offered by Aurega come from this Ecuadorian craft, and you can feel it at the first fitting.
Wearing it well
A panama is worn fairly straight, the brim horizontal or tilted very slightly over the eye. Pushed too far back, it loses its line and its role as a sunshade; pulled down to the ears, it loses its shape. The crown should rest on the head without strain: the slightest marked crease on the forehead after an hour’s wear means the size is too small.
What to pair it with
The panama is effortlessly elegant. It naturally accompanies linen, cotton, pale shirts and summer dresses, but it works just as well with simple jeans and a white t-shirt. The classic black band goes with everything; a coloured band adds a more summery note. In town as by the water, it remains the most timeless summer hat there is.
The gestures that preserve it
- Pick it up by the brim, never by pinching the crown: that is where fibre cracks begin.
- Do not roll or fold it, unless it is a model expressly designed for that.
- Avoid leaving it behind a windscreen in full sun: dry heat stiffens and weakens the straw.
- If it is caught in a shower, let it dry flat, in the open air, away from any source of heat.
Treated well, a finely made panama will see you through years of summers. The straw mellows gently, the band takes the shape of the head, and the hat becomes, quite literally, your own.