Cold and rainey here in SoCal, but here's my Art Fawcett panama from sunnier days.
I haven't yet learned an appreciation for straw hats because I have always thought of them as disposable. In the past I've worn straw Western hats in summer but, as you know, they are paper straw and not particularly cool - nor do they last very long. I have a couple of cheap straw hats like the Stetson Panama below and I'm going to make do with those for this summer. Perhaps next summer I'll get something nicer. Incidentally, for Panama hats, the color depends to some extent on the area in Ecuador where they are woven. The Montecristi hats are natural in color while the less expensive Cuenca hats are usually closer to white because of the way they are finished. The Stetson below is a cheap ($35) Cuenca hat but it is about as far as I'm going to go this summer.
Just kidding. I think the photograph is pretty accurate. Check out Panama Bob's web site. You can get pretty close to this price and his hats have a great reputation.
