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Panama hat or simply Panama is one of the popular variety of hats available in South America. The hat is made of leaves of toquilla straw plant. Panama hat, which were initially available in Ecuador, gained world wide popularity when they were exported to various Asian, European and American nations in the 19th and 20th century along with other products. The hat gained much popularity when President Theodore Roosevelt wore the Panama hat during his visit to Panama Canal construction site. The hat is also known by the name of Jipijapa, the town where the hat was most available.
Cuenca, one of the prominent towns in Ecuador, is regarded as the chief producer of the Panama hats. The best quality Panama hats are available at Montecristi. Today Panama hat has been designated as the most popular among all types of hats. Eloy Alfaro's name is also associated with this variety of hats. This national hero of Ecuador financed the liberal revolution of the country by exporting the Panama hats.
Panama is the best accessory that goes with the summer suits like silk and linen. This type of hats are extremely popular in the tropical areas and in the Caribbean Islands. These hats are usually light color and weigh less and hence more popular than the felt hats. The popularity of most of the felt hats like fedoras are on the verge of declining but Panama hats have been able to retain their popularity through ages. This type of hat is quite common with men specially those residing in tropical countries. In the recent times the famous companies like Stetson, Dobbs and Cavanaugh manufacture Panama hats.
However there has been a lot of controversy regarding the quality of Panama hats. Blocking and weaving are the two processes that are commonly used for manufacturing the hats. If you want to detect the quality have a look at the weaving of the hats. The expensive Panama hats can have about 1600 or 2000 weave counts per square inch. The price of good quality Panama hats can go upto $500.00. A good quality Panama hat has water retaining capacity and they can be easily folded.
The Panama hats are also the source of income for many people residing in Ecuador. Thousands of people in this country earn their livelihood by manufacturing this type of hat which has earned popularity all over the world. But all the manufacturers are not capable of making the famous Montecristi Superfinos variety.
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