Vintage Panama Hat
An article in this week’s New York Times reminded me of this history of my own Panama hat;
John Hardy was a remarkable man, a World War II Navy veteran, a graduate of both Harvard and Boston University, a lifelong history professor and our very good friend. Before passing away in 2013, he gave me a bamboo tube, not much bigger than a cigar holder containing a parasisal hat body in its original condition—it had been rolled and stored for we guess approximately 80 years.
Luckily, our friends at Salmagundi in Jamaica Plain are experts in all things hats. We are very grateful they were able to give this hat not just life but soul as well. I’m sure somewhere up there, John Hardy is smiling in appreciation.
Here’s how they did it:
The first step was to take this raw hat from its tube, condition the body in order to make the straw supple for blocking to ensure it would hold its shape and not crack while it was being worked on.
Once that was all set, measurements were taken and decisions made:
Head Size: 58cm
Crown: 1930’s diamond crown
Blocking: Custom Hand Blocking
Brim
Flange: down 2 1/4″ brim
Wire Brim
Bound Edge
Sweatband: Vom Bauer, Brown (Hand sewn)
Lining
Band: Ribbon, Royce
Knot: Classic
We are very grateful to Salmagundi for giving this hat not just life but soul as well; I’m sure somewhere up there, John Hardy is smiling in appreciation.
