New York Times feature on Montecristi Panama hat craftsmen

[couch]

In today's Travel section: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/20/trav ... uador.html

[andy57]

I don't know if it's still true, but Brent Black buys every hat that Simón Espinal makes. I have a couple of very fine Monticristi Panamas, but nothing approaching the fineness that man makes. I had one very fine hat that was, alas, very badly damaged by TSA a few years ago. I still have it and use it when a battered old hat is all I need.

I've often wondered if the kind of hat that Simón weaves is very useful as a hat. My experience with extremely fine weaves is that the hats themselves are rather floppy and the brim is affected by even the slightest breeze. I've come to appreciate heavier, coarser weaves, still Montecristi, but more robust and much better behaved in a breeze. It also saves me a considerable amount of money. But, just knowing that there is at least one person who can create an object of such beauty gives me hope in this world.