CAUS NZ Panama hats

Famously known as ‘Panama’ hats, the iconic white natural fibre hat is actually traditional to Ecuador. Its misleading name derives from the location where the hats were first exported across the world, the Isthmus of Panama, and were later given to workers on the famous Panama Canal to combat the fierce heat and sun that made the workers conditions difficult. Fashion history was made when US President Franklin D. Roosevelt wore the local white hat to view the engineering marvel of the Panama Canal, the glamour of the presidency was all this hat needed to reach immediate ‘icon’ status.