Panama City – Style

Today panama is one of the key summer accessories. Crafted from lightweight cotton, panama hats provide excellent protection from the sun. However, the history of this element of clothing originates far from the beaches and resorts. We tell you where panama came from in a modern wardrobe.

The birthplace of Panama (despite its name) is in Ireland. In English, this piece of clothing is often referred to as the “Irish hat” or “fisherman’s hat”. The fact is that Irish farmers and fishermen adopted this headdress at the beginning of the 20th century. Then panamas were sewn from tweed or raw wool – and served to protect the head from moisture. The fact is that raw untreated wool has natural water-repellent properties, which helped farmers a lot in the rainy Irish climate. The wide brim also helped protect the neck and ears from the sun. In the first half of the 20th century, panama gradually appeared in the wardrobes of British and European farmers.

Since the beginning of the war, some army units used Panama as part of the uniform – mainly for soldiers who served in hot or tropical countries. After World War II, the American army “dressed” its soldiers in panama hats during the Vietnam conflict to protect them from the sun and high humidity. It was then, in the 1960s, that panama hats began to be sewn from lighter materials, such as cotton. As often happens, this item of clothing migrated from the army wardrobe to the streets of big cities. The subculture of British mods popularized panamas among young people – they were worn with long parkas and sometimes even with suits. At this time, panamas were sewn not only from cotton, but also from canvas, seersucker and even denim.

The 1980s in the USA became a new surge in the popularity of panamas – at the dawn of hip-hop, many rappers began to wear panamas. Run DMC, Grandmaster Flash and other pioneers of the movement appeared at the concert and on the pages of magazines in light cotton hats. One of the most popular brands associated with bucket hats in hip-hop is the British brand Kangol, the one with the kangaroo logo.

Panama as an element of street style gradually migrated into the 1990s and went beyond American culture. In the 1990s, British youth especially fell in love with this headdress. In the wake of the popularity of raves and Britpop, Panama became closely associated with British subcultures – so much so that it received a new name: session hat, which can be translated as “festival hat”. The musical groups of that time largely influenced the style of youth – the soloists of Oasis and The Stone Roses, the pioneers of the Britpop music movement, made panama hats their calling cards. Then, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, panama hats began to appear more often in the wardrobe of football fans – the founders of the casual street style.

Today, panama hats can be found both on the street and on the catwalk. Rappers, hypebeasts, fans and, of course, fishermen – panama as an element of wardrobe has influenced a huge number of groups and subcultures. Therefore, when choosing accessories for a vacation, you should definitely pay attention to a light headdress with a brim.

Ilya Petruk