We are talking about the Panama hat, which is traditionally made in Ecuador. The elegant headwear woven from palm fibres, considered a status symbol for men for decades, is now making a slow comeback.

When is a Panama hat more like a work of museum-quality art? It all begins with the straw, which comes from a plant “cut at just the right time of development.” Some Panama hats can cost as ...

The hat’s popularity was cemented in 1906, however, when a photograph of Roosevelt wearing one on an official visit to Panama Canal excavation was printed in the New York Times. By 1944, Panama ...