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Panama Hat Thread

Messages
19,408
Location
Funkytown, USA
I don't want to run afoul of the Bartenders, so I won't post a link. However, there is a certain site where we can look for and bid on hats that has these two items available:

$_57.jpg $_58.jpg

They are known as Evr-Kool eX-Ray hats. Made by the Superior Hat Company of St. Louis.

835372288_o.jpg

Ever seen one of these?
 

daizawaguy

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,661
Location
Tokyo
optimo by Borsalino

Any idea on what the weave is? This hat is quoted on the net (even Borsalino sites) as *Montecristi*, but according to local sales people at specialist hats shops its not a Montecristi. Borsalino do have 3 other grades of limited editions at high end Japanese department stores like Mitsukoshi, which are the traditional Montecristi look and colors, but this one is lighter, and usually uniformly woven. Clicking on the photo in the original posting above will give a more detailed view. Thanks
 

fedoralover

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,006
Location
Great Northwest
I picked up this Monticristi at an Antique show in Portland yesterday. Looks never to have been worn. It has a 3 3/4 inch brim with the pencil curl and a 5 1/2 inch crown. I'm going to have it reblocked to hopefully resemble the one in the other pic. Has a weave count at around 700 wpi.



Here's what I'm hoping to make out of it.


fedoralover
 

mikespens

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,913
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Really nice Alan and looks very similar to this one I got from Garrett who got it from a Rick Blaine classifed. It was a tiny raw body finished by BSHW, to see it stretched to my 7 1/4 size was amazing. I suspected it was woven in Japan but had no proof other than a tag sewn onto the body. It just doesn't look like an Ecuadorian body.






 
Last edited:
Messages
15,069
Location
Buffalo, NY
Very interesting Mike - thanks for posting this. It does appear to be the same weave. Brim finishing is the same and the Mikado also has the same two small holes at the top of the crown - a tool mark related to the weaving process, I suspect.
 

mikespens

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,913
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Alan, it's nice to finally know what to call mine, I never was able to translate "Tateyori" on the tag and assumed it was a prefecture of Okinawa. The suppleness of a straw weave this old is amazing to me, it's a real tough hat, I feel no need to pamper it.

Man I love the even patina on yours. I did find reference to straw hats and "Celluloid Finish" here:

https://books.google.com/books?id=z...WF#v=onepage&q=celluloid finish straw&f=false
 

navarre

Vendor
Messages
322
Location
Black Sheep Hat Works
Very interesting Mike - thanks for posting this. It does appear to be the same weave. Brim finishing is the same and the Mikado also has the same two small holes at the top of the crown - a tool mark related to the weaving process, I suspect.

I wondered if it was from the finishing process? Perhaps a small set of prongs to finish or dry the hats bodies on. Stock factory hat liners usually have a set of three small holes that are noticeable and I believe that comes from a stand used to starch them.

Very cool to see the other Mikado, just from the photos of it and handling Mikes, I think they are the same. I will say, working with the celluloid finish was no joke and not for the faint of heart. Mike is right though, somehow that little bugger stretched like you wouldn't believe.
 
Messages
15,069
Location
Buffalo, NY
Interesting straw bodies and I agree, difficult to work with steam. I adjusted the brim but left the crown as it was set. It is great to see the Japanese tag. Mikado must have originated from the marketing value of Gilbert & Sullivan's most popular operetta (in the pre-Linda Ronstadt era). The ads I found from the mid-1920s show a $2.95 retail price which must have been a modest Panama alternative at that time.

Here is how it wears:

071915.jpg
 

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