Panama Hats

Panama Hat merchants since 1985
in the historic heart of old St. Augustine, Florida

Mama Chocha weaving a Panama Hat

The best Panama Hats are made in Ecuador by a steadily declining number of weavers. The Ecuadorian hats were sold in Panama during the construction of the Panama Canal and the name "Panama Hat" stuck.

The authentic, soft Panama Hat is made of the leaves of the palm-like plant, Carloduvica palmata, called "toquilla" in Spanish. The plant is found in only a few areas in Latin America and the plants that produce fibers suitable for quality Panama Hats are found in only specialized humid micro-climates along the central Ecuadorian Pacific Coast.

The straw is prepared by stripping the fibers from emerging leaf bud of the "toquilla" palm. The finer the fiber thickness, the better the hat quality. A "fino" hat and a "fino fino" Panama Hat have the texture more like linen than straw and will take weeks or months to weave by hand. We carry a variety of styles and weaves -- regular, "fino", "fino fino," the extraordinary "fino fino extra fino" and the top of the line and extremely rare "super fino."