Authentic, classic Panama hats are not made in Panama. They are, and always have been, made in Ecuador. So why are they called Panama hats if they really come from Ecuador? Good question. The way-too-short answer is that the hats were purchased in Panama and the buyers didn’t know where they were made. (Hey,...
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(They’re too good for just ten reasons!) 11. I’m a Montecristi hat specialist. Actually, I’m not just a Montecristi hat specialist, I’m the Montecristi hat specialist. This is the only business outside Montecristi that is all about Montecristi hats. 10. Trying to save the art itself. The reason there is a business in the...
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Simón Espinal is the best weaver in the world. I have been buying his entire production for years, paying him double what he used to earn, plus an artist’s commission on sold hats. But he had heard rumors of easy work and high pay in Venezuela. Yikes. Not true, but he doesn’t know that....
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Those are the hands of Simón Espinal. Son sin iguales, los manos de Simón Espinal: They are without equals, the hands of Simón Espinal. I searched for fifteen years to find those hands. Those hands create the finest hand-woven hats on planet earth. Possibly, the finest ever. Hats that are, quite literally, the stuff...
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A hat with 20 rows of weave per inch is finer by far than the vast majority of Panama hats most people ever see. A hat with 25 rows of weave per inch is an impressive hat (even to me, after all these years and thousands of Montecristi hats). A hat with 30 rows...
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Looking for the stuff of legends? A Montecristi Panama hat woven so finely that it seems to be made of cloth, not straw? I mean the real deal. As in all the way to the top, the very finest in the world. The absolute highest expression of the Art of Montecristi. The ones all...
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How much do you have? Send it. Actually, I recommend against spending more than you are comfortable with. I don’t want you to be hesitant to wear your hat for fear something might happen to it and ruin your life. You will enjoy your hat more if you wear it. Just try not to...
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“The Hat,” the worlds finest (and most expensive) Panama hat (offered exclusively by BBB) has generated some buzz on the web, including posts on Men-Access and Luxuo. By the way, I’ve seen this hat (I wasn’t brave enough to actually touch it), and it really is as amazing as it sounds. It’s so light...
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