NEWS

Not All Straw Hats Created Equal  

The six straw hats in this photo represent six different types of straw used for making straw hats. Starting in the bottom left corner and working clockwise are shantung straw, panama straw, sisol straw, baku straw, sea grass and milan straw.

SHANTUNG: In the bottom left corner of the photo you will see part of the crown and brim of a white straw hat. This is shantung straw. Shantung is usually a light-weight straw that is bleached to an almost pure white, about as white as the meat of an almond. Shantung straw hats are made from a flat woven sheet and blocked into fedora shapes and optimos. 

PANAMA: Panama straw is a catch all phrase that most people say when referring to a straw hat. A true panama straw hat, like the one above the shantung hat on the left side of the photo, has a weave that radiates out from a circle in the center of the crown. The inside of a panama hat is stamped with brown ink declaring the hat was woven in Ecuador. Different types of straw may be used and woven with varying degrees of tightness as well as vent patterns. Some panama hats can be rolled up for storage. 

SISOL: The top left corner of the photo features a sisol straw fedora. Sisol is so light weight that it makes feathers feel leaden. Highly refined and delicate, sisol straw fedoras are prized more for wearing at special events than for daily use. They are very susceptible to rain and nearly any impact. Yet, they are also nearly works of art and so light you can wear one all day without noticing pressure on your dome. 

BAKU: Baku straw hats are so refined the straw is first used to form geometric shapes in the weave. It, too, is extremely lightweight like the sisol straw. Genuine baku straw hats are among the most expensive straw hats at Hats Plus. As much art as headwear, most people save their baku straw hats for special events. Water and rough handling is baku’s greatest enemy. 

MILAN: Milan straw hats, like the one in the bottom right corner, are more defined by their construction than material. A milan straw hat has many horizontal layers like clapboard siding on a house. The straw itself can be made of anything from paper to different plastics. The layering process can make these among the heaviest of the straw hats but also among the most durable. Milan straw hats also tend to offer pretty good solar protection, too.

With any luck this helps to better distinguish the differences between the straw hats that are available. As always, we welcome your questions and comments.