The Panama Hat

For us living in northern Europe, summer seems very far away. Still it is nice to think about, and plan for the warm season. On those sunny days you need a good hat, an original Panama hat, made in Equador! My own Panama hat was stolen last summer, so I have placed an order for a new one here.

A little bit of history:

When the Spanish conquerors arrived to what nowadays are known as the provinces of Guayas and Manabí on the Ecuadorian coast, they observed native Indians using straw hats which covered their ears and necks. These hats looked like headdresses, similar to those used by the nuns or widows in Europe at the time. It is this similarity that gave the hats the name of "Toquillas" (headdress in Spanish) and resulted in the straw from which they were made to be called "Toquilla Straw".
According to the legend, this native hat obtained its name when Teddy Roosevelt participated in the inauguration of the Panama Canal (1913). During the event he received an Ecuadorian straw hat as a gift, and without knowing the true origin, he thanked his guests for the gift mentioning it as a "Panama Hat".