While I am taking a little trip away from my beach to spend some actual time relaxing on another beach, I started to think about all the "beach ware" you had to "wear" way back when. Even before you HAD to have a Bud and Alleys tee, your first pair of Ray Bans, sex wax (for your surf board that you didn't have), Hog's Breath Tee, Sun-In in your hair, Hard Rock Tee, eat at Fudpuckers and The Back Porch, Body Glove swimsuits and all the other must have 80's fashion don'ts, you had to have a Panama Jack tee.
Whoever even knew why? I didn't, but I wore one with pride. I'm sure if was 3 sizes too big and the short sleeves came down past my elbows, but I rocked, probably with my velcro Pony's! haha
Well I've gone back to old PJ...not a tee, but what they are really known for..hats!
Here is the one I bought:
I mean how cool does he look in one of the orginal PJ hats...Mine is perfect, not too much like a fedora and yet can be rolled up for flying.
I found an article below...just to solidify how cool the PJ Hat can be, but if you find yourself spending over $150 for one....shame on you! Mine was around $60 and does the job just perfectly!
Consider the Panama Hat.
It’s the perfect tropical accomplice, a mesh of finely woven straw designed to protect you from the sun without interfering with any nearby breezes. Obsessives have been known to drop up to 35 grand for the perfect one, but just finding it takes a good deal of legwork. Luckily, we’re here to help.
The most important thing is where your hat was made. The best ones come from Ecuador (the “Panama” thing is a misnomer from the canal-building days), either Cuenca or Monticristi. By definition, Panama Hats are woven by hand from toquilla straw, which only grows in the coastal mountains of Ecuador—so most of the weaving happens in Cuenca, the most accessible city in the mountain region. If you find a Panama in a European millinery house likeBorsalino or Lock & Co., it was most likely woven in Cuenca.
Monticristi, on the other hand, is where the artisanal magic happens…and where you’ll find yourself paying enough money to buy a car. It’s home to a dozen or so master weavers, each of whom can spend weeks or even months on perfecting a single hat. Our pick from the high end is Simon Espinal (you can find him through Brent Black), who wove together that $35,000 model we mentioned earlier.
One more perk of a top-shelf hat: If you get one in the Optimo shape, you’ll be able to roll it up. That means you can stow the hat in a slim box for your flight to the tropics and pop it seamlessly back into shape the moment you leave the airport. Granted, it will have a less-than-crisp look the next time you wear it (and after 20 years, the wear can add up), but we’ve never shied away from a little wear and tear.
And if you wanted to tuck a few feathers into the ribbon, we wouldn’t complain.
—N.B.
