You’ve probably never worn a hat with a brim as wide as these. I really enjoyed testing this style by showing it to women friends. The usual reaction was to shriek, grab the hat, and run for the mirror. Now I’ll be the first to admit that I know nothing about women. (Okay, okay, maybe less than that.) But I figured the shriek-and-mirror reaction meant it was a winner.

Apparently, there is something very comforting about a hat with a 7-inch brim. Several said they felt like they just wanted to get under there and wrap themselves in it like a security blanket.

I have no idea what your reaction will be when it emerges from the shipping box. You may let out a cry of joy and run for the mirror. You may head for the beach. You may head off to some elegant affair, knowing you will be noticed.

I have these custom woven for me. As usual, I requested a much higher than average weave quality, natural straw. I finish them with black grosgrain ribbon outside. Taller crowns get wider ribbon, shorter crowns get less wide ribbon.

You can turn the brim up all around. Turn it down in front. Turn it down in back. Turn one side down, one side up. You may decide to pin up one side. Or the other. One hat, many styles. One woman, many moods.

The young ladies in the photographs are not at all overwhelmed by that much brim. The woman pictured above is no more than 4’10” and as thin as my patience at the end of a long day.

It amounts to unabashed self-indulgence.

My daughter, Laurel, was a Biology major. She had a part time job helping to maintain a large wooded area with a beaver pond, enclosed by her campus and an urban residential neighborhood. She eradicated invasive plants, re-introduced native plants, maintained trails. Good stuff. Outdoor stuff. Naturally, I decided she needed a hat. Hey, what’s the point of being a Hat Guy if I don’t create a special hat for my daughter?

I started with a Montecristi Panama hat. Wide brim. Simple, domed crown. Colorful Mayan band outside. CoolMax® sweat band inside. I like the “keeper” on the outside band, left side. It gives the hat a more finished look.

Laurel loves her hat. But she doesn’t wear it to work. She says it’s too good to be a garden hat. She was so happy with it, though, that I made one for my sister.

My sister lives in the Seattle area and has been re-landscaping and gardening her rural “yard.” She, also, was delighted with her hat but she, also, questioned its intended use. “I’m supposed to wear this working in the yard?” I thought maybe you could. “It rains, you know.” This is not a surprise. It’s Seattle. “Sometimes it’s muddy.” That would follow.

The idea is that you just wear it. If it gets rained on, it gets rained on. If it gets dirty, it gets dirty. Sure, it’ll lose its pristine smooth rounded shape. But it will gain Personality. It will become a good friend.

Both daughter and sister have declared the hat “too good to be a garden hat.” Maybe they’ll wear them to the beach when they visit me. They are wonderful beach hats.

Help me out here. I need some courageous customers. People who won’t be afraid to wear this hat while gardening, hiking, beaching, and so on. I know you’re out there. Wear your hat. Do things in it. Give it Personality. Become best friends. Email me a photo. I’ll show Laurel and Lisa how it gets even better when you actually wear it.

One of many dire consequences of global deforestation is that there just isn’t enough shade any more. If you want to be sure to have shade, you’d better bring your own. I’m afraid it has become a BYOS world.

Two choices are immediately obvious. Wear a tree on your head. Good shade, kind of heavy. Or wear a Weekender. Good shade, about 3 ounces.

Tree or Weekender…Weekender or Tree…Tough call.

Let me help you out. Go with the Weekender. Do you have any idea how much a good shade tree costs these days? The Weekender is definitely a better deal.

And while it may seem insignificant now, I assure you that at the end of an extra-innings game in the sun bleachers, a full day at the company 4th of July Picnic, or an afternoon at the beach, you’ll appreciate having shed those extra thousands of pounds in favor of the 3 oz. Weekender.

This is quite possibly the world’s classiest all-purpose knockin’ around hat. A wide-brim Montecristi Panama hat. 3 to 31⁄2 inches. Same quality weave as the Montecristi Roll-up Optimo, Mombasa (Safari), Laurel’s Too-Good-To-Be-a-Garden Hat. The crown is hand-blocked in the same classic style as my Plantation and Classic Fedora Montecristi Panama hats.

Two choices of brim styles. A Western style brim, gentle curl out near the end, dips down a bit front and back. Top 3 photos.

Or a pencil-roll Planter brim, also dipping down front and back, same as my Plantation style. Bottom three photos.

Eight choices of band colors. Colorful cotton, hand-loomed in the Western Highlands of Guatemala.

Two choices of inside band. Black Cotton Twill or CoolMax®. Both are good.

This summer, be a shady character.