As the days grow longer, the wardrobe grows lighter — and so do the hats. Summer is the season of woven fibres, supple cloths, materials that let the air through and filter the light. Each has its character, its feel, its own way of ageing. Learning to recognise them is already halfway to choosing well.
Paja toquilla, queen of summer
It is impossible to speak of summer materials without beginning with this one. Paja toquilla is the fibre of the genuine panamas, woven by hand in Ecuador. Supple, fine, surprisingly resistant, it produces hats of great lightness, whose ivory tone mellows gently with time. A tight, even weave is the signature of the finest pieces.
Woven straws and worked fibres
Around the panama gravitates a whole family of straws: wheat straw with its rustic charm, fibres braided and then sewn in a spiral, fancy braids mingling several shades. Italy, where some of our models are made, has long cultivated an art of straw work that can be recognised in the crispness of the braids and the evenness of the stitching.
Each of these materials has its own temperament. Supple braids lend themselves to relaxed shapes, capelines and travellers; firmer straws give boaters their rigour — a flat brim and an upright crown that tolerate no approximation.
Cloths and light fabrics
Summer is not only about woven fibres. Linen and cotton, as plain cloth or piqué, dress caps and soft hats with a very summery ease. Easy to live with, pleasant against the skin, they are the natural companions of holidays and slip without fuss into a beach bag.
- Paja toquilla: the fineness and lightness of the genuine panamas of Ecuador.
- Woven straws: from the structured boater to the supple shapes of summer.
- Linen and cotton: the simplicity of cloth for relaxed days.
The best way to choose is still to touch, to try on, to compare. At our partner hatters and boutiques, take the time to turn the materials over in your hands: summer often begins right there, at the precise moment when a fibre finds its head.
