Seventh Doctor's Hat

[Kt Templar]

From what I can tell it's a pretty standard rollable panama.

Can our hat experts detect any finer identifying details?

Where might I get a reasonably priced one, in the UK if poss.

 

[Chinaski]

That hat doesn't appear to be a panama, but looks to be creased in the optimo style with the brim upturned. It has a pugaree type ribbon which could be easily done on a panama. I'd probably go in that direction if it were my hat.

 

[AEH]

That hat doesn't appear to be a panama, but looks to be creased in the optimo style with the brim upturned. It has a pugaree type ribbon which could be easily done on a panama. I'd probably go in that direction if it were my hat.

Not a panama, but similar style. This one in "Canadian Beaver Luxury Finish" .(The "optimo ridge" is not very visible in the picture, but it is there) If anyone have a name for this style, it would be easier to search for it

 

[Kt Templar]

Thanks for your answers guys.

I'm confused, why is it that all the South American Countries websites I've stumbled across call it a Panama then? 'Colonial' and 'Optimo' style do crop up but the word Panama always does.

Is it just that they originate from Panama? and what IS a Panama hat then?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

Looks a lot like this one.
http://hatsfromoz.com.au/catalog/panama-p-45.html

 

[boushi_mania]

Thanks for your answers guys.

I'm confused, why is it that all the South American Countries websites I've stumbled across call it a Panama then? 'Colonial' and 'Optimo' style do crop up but the word Panama always does.

Is it just that they originate from Panama? and what IS a Panama hat then?

Ecuador, actually, but they were always exported from Panama, which is what lent the name.

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Courtesy of early 20th Century jingoism

Thanks for your answers guys.

I'm confused, why is it that all the South American Countries websites I've stumbled across call it a Panama then? 'Colonial' and 'Optimo' style do crop up but the word Panama always does.

Is it just that they originate from Panama? and what IS a Panama hat then?

Panama hats originate in Ecuador. See, wasn't that simple?

Panama hats are called "Panama hats" because they first came to the world's attention when Europeans (specifically the French, who never finished the job [they did a fine job with the Suez canal, but financial and mosquito difficulties stopped them in Central America {try Googling "Walter Reed"}]) and later the Americans built the Panama canal. the light-weight hats were traded in Latin America and came to North American and European attention during the successful completion of the Canal.

The US engineered a successful secession of the Republic of Panama from Columbia when we couldn't come to agreeable terms with the Columbian government over canal rights.

There were lots of newspaper photographers who captured images of men wearing the hats while working on the Canal which subsequently became wildly popular in the US and Europe.

So to indulge in a little software metaphor, if "hat" is the super class, and "straw hat" is a sub class of hat and "Panama hat" is a sub class of straw hat.

Particular styles of Panama hats are then sub classes of Panama hat. Therefor you can have an Optimo style Panama hat, or a Havana style Panama hat, or, well, you get the idea.

 

[kaosharper1]

That hat doesn't appear to be a panama, but looks to be creased in the optimo style with the brim upturned. It has a pugaree type ribbon which could be easily done on a panama. I'd probably go in that direction if it were my hat.

And add a bound brim.

 

[johnnycanuck]

It is a Optimo Panama Hat with a bound brim cource weave. I would talk to Art or Panama Bob about it and see if they could hook you up. Closest I own is a cheep one from the uk. http://www.olney-headwear.com/classicpanamas.html SM68 Folder Brisa bought it from a department store years ago.

Oh and there is always http://smas.forumup.co.uk/index.php The Sylvester McCoy Appreciation Society


Johnny

 

[Kurt Bergeron]

This isn't to say that his hat didn't change throughout the season. Although his hat was always in the optimo style. I know for instance that his shoes were really expensive and they didn't want to buy 6 versions of them for the show ( as each character has multiple versions of the same outfit, which I'm sure you all know) Anywho, to save money Ken Trew, the costume designer purchased golf shoes with the same pattern as the original shoes. What I'm saying is, I'm sure the BBC didn't spend 9 million dollars on $200 a piece Panama hats, which I'm sure were religiously wrecked during the taping. So they MUST be a cheaper versions of an expensive hat, that the costume department could afford a lot of. The only thing I can offer is this video that I put on my Youtube account. It's the final scene of the final episode of the ORIGINAL series, called "Survival." In it, the Doctor's hat is off and his companion Ace (Sophie Aldred) is holding it in her hand. You can see the manufacturer's mark inside of the hat. Now,...I have NO IDEA WHAT IT SAYS, BUT....PERHAPS,...to people on this board who are hat professionals, you MIGHT recognize it? I don't know :/ But here goes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyNQPV49ZQA

 

[Kurt Bergeron]

I discovered from someone who owns a screen worn hat, that his is 7th Doctor hat is from Locke & Co. HOWEVER, this hat was from Sylvester McCoy's pilot episode and THAT hat was from his personal collection and was in rough shape at the time AND in the episode. The brim was very bent and wavy, while in later episodes it was GENERALLY very straight and perfect. I still believe that cheaper versions of the hat were purchased and used through the run of the show. http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/_Panama___Straw_Hats-_Folder_Panama-P109.aspx

What I'D LIKE TO FIND, are the version of this hat in which the brim flips up and has that GREAT curl to it. Unlike this...
http://barrancospanamahats.com/colonial-classic-optimo-p-175.html
in which the brim is flip up,.....but,...well....it's a little limp. Does this have to do with the weave itself? The width of the brim? Experts?

 

[Kurt Bergeron]

This looks to be a great option for costumers. It's a great price and it looks like the brim will snap at a desired height
http://www.panamahatshop.com/en/ccc1.htm

 

[johnnycanuck]

http://www.doctorwhoprops.com/costumes.php
halfway down the page you have the hat in question and a little history. From what I remember this hat (the one in the first season) was Sylvester’s own hat.
Here is the company web page.
http://www.bates-hats.co.uk/panama_hats.html
Johnny