Enjoy a personalised fitting experience and discover the perfect Panama hat for you today. History of the Panama Hat:
Ecuadorians have been mastering the art of weaving Toquilla straw since 4.000 B.C. Ecuador has always been the only country in the world to produce genuine Panama Hats throughout history. A traditional brimmed hat of Ecuadorian origin that is made from the plaited leaves of the t
oquilla straw plant (Carludovica palmata), used by the workers of the Panama Canal to protect them from the sun. Straw hats woven in Ecuador, like many other 19th and early 20th century South American goods, were shipped first to the Isthmus of Panama before sailing for their destinations in Asia, the rest of the Americas and Europe. For some products, the name reflects their point of international sale rather than their place of domestic origin; hence "Panama hats". Theodore Roosevelt fell in love of these hats while visiting the construction of the Canal in 1906. His picture wearing a fine "Panama Hat" appeared in The New York Times and the world then mistaken the origin of this noble Ecuadorian handcraft. There was nothing people could do at that time to correct this now traditional name of "Panama Hats" and its amazing history. The world knew the "Sombrero de Paja Toquilla" for the name of its shipping point, Panama and not from its country of origin, Ecuador.
