Searching for the perfect sombrero

Jul 6

Jul 6 Searching for the perfect sombrero

My name is Lisa and I'm a hat addict. I love everything about hats and I don't discriminate: summer, winter, small or large, they bring much joy to my little life. Upon rolling into Ecuador, it was out with the felt winter hat to make room for a sun hat - just in time for the beach and Galapagos Islands.

For many years, I've favoured a classic trilby hat, often called a Panama hat. They're smart, durable and keep the sun off my wrinkle-prone face. Prior to visiting Panama, I dreamt of hats for weeks only to disappointingly discover that Panama hats are in fact from Ecuador, shipped up to Panama for the workers in the early 1900s when they were building the mighty Canal.

What better afternoon activity than to search for my very own sombrero in the country from which they originate. You can only imagine the joy I experienced stumbling across the Panama Hat Museum in cute little Cuenca - southern Ecuador. To be fair, this 'museum' is basically a hat factory, but I'll buy into their sweet little marketing trap.

Rows and rows of hats lay before me - begging to be bought. The hat tailors buzzed about the museum floor, ribbons and excess sombrero trim lay on the ground and the hat machines were at the ready to produce their finest work.

Sure, I could buy a hat off the rack but where's the fun in that? I went all out and decided to have my very own custom sombrero made. The entire process took 30 mins (1.5hrs if you add all the trying on I did). It took me back to my school days studying textiles and design where we'd tinker about with sewing machines, fabrics and silly wanna-be fashionista projects. So for me, helping to craft my very own hat was a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

6 steps to creating a custom sombrero

#1 select the colour and weave
I went with natural colour and a weave that meant I didn't have to sell a kidney. Weaves range from $30 to $600. The finer the weave, the more expensive the hat. A hat is forever, right?

#2 decide upon the brim width
This is where I infuriate the hat makers: I try on almost every hat in the museum, twice, and settle for a design that is a little more bespoke then they're apparently used to. The patient hat designer has to whip out the pencil and measuring tape for what we're calling a 'Lisa specification' - not too wide, not too narrow. Not done before. Just the way I like it.