Despite taking the name of the central American country of Panama, panama straw hats are in fact made in Ecuador. Panama hats became known as panamas 100 years ago following their popularity with the builders of the Panama Canal, where they offered workers much needed protection from the sun.

Our panamas are handmade by the only women’s cooperative in Ecuador, in the Cuenca province. 400 weavers work at lightening speed, making sun hats for men, women and children.

Panama Hats are woven by hand from 'Paja Toquilla' straw, a filament split from the leaves of the Carludovica Palmata plant indigenous to elevated areas in Ecuador.

The quality of a panama hat is determined by the fineness and evenness of it's weave along with the quality and colour of the straw. In simple terms the finer the weave, the finer the hat.

The Cuenca region has a classification of 20 grades of weave, with the finer grades costing considerably more. Our rollable hats are classified as grade 8 which means they are fine enough to be rolled into a small hat box. A panama should only be kept rolled up for short periods though, so that it does not loose its shape.

The Fedora Panama was finally recognized as a design classic in 1985, when the Conran Foundation selected it for its Boilerhouse Project at the Victoria and Albert Museum, as being one of the "100 best designs ever".