The Hat Whisperer emerges from the deep burrough where straw hats are stored. What does this mean? Spring and Summer are closer than they seem. Hang in there, America. This winter has to die eventually.

Spring and Summer can’t be that far away.

Honestly.

Otherwise we wouldn’t already be changing over our store with straw hats!

Our work has only just begun, but we are already boxing up some of the wool and fur felt. Better yet, we’re bringing up the straw and linen.

Best of all, new models of summer hats are starting to arrive from Stetson, Biltmore and Dobbs. Some of them are already on display in the store, if you can swing by to see. If the internet is as close as you can get to us, check back regularly because we soon will be adding them online!

Until then, think warm thoughts. This winter has to end eventually.

The six straw hats in this photo represent six different types of straw used for making straw hats. Starting in the bottom left corner and working clockwise are shantung straw, panama straw, sisol straw, baku straw, sea grass and milan straw.

Spend any time browsing straw hats online or in our shop and you will notice that there are several different types of straw listed in the descriptions. While it is not difficult to see and feel the distinctions between them in real life; many people don’t know the technical differences in the hats’ weaves and construction.

Using the photo to the right, let’s take a closer look at 6 different types of straw used in many of our summer hats.

SHANTUNG: In the bottom left corner of the photo you will see part of the crown and brim of a white straw hat. This is shantung straw. Shantung is usually a light-weight straw that is bleached to an almost pure white, about as white as the meat of an almond. Shantung straw hats are made from a flat woven sheet and blocked into fedora shapes and optimos. The off-white color helps reflect the sun light, but the weave isn’t usually as tight on shantung hats as it is on others, so it is still possible to get burned with prolonged activity outdoors. It is quite maleable, but shantung can be easily damaged by rain and crushing, unless otherwise noted on the hat.

PANAMA: Panama straw is a catch all phrase that most people say when referring to a straw hat. A true panama straw hat, like the one above the shantung hat on the left side of the photo, has a weave that radiates out from a circle in the center of the crown. The inside of a panama hat is stamped with brown ink declaring the hat was woven in Ecuador. Different types of straw may be used and woven with varying degrees of tightness as well as vent patterns. Some panama hats can be rolled up for storeage. Others will be destroyed by any act of crushing or rolling. It depends on the hat and its manufacturer. To read more about the history of panama hats or how to grade them, please see our previous blog posts.

SISOL: The top left corner of the photo features a sisol straw fedora. Sisol is so light weight that it makes feathers feel leaden. Highly refined and delicate, sisol straw fedoras are prized more for wearing at special events than for daily use. They are very suseptible to rain and nearly any impact. Yet, they are also nearly works of art and so light you can wear one all day without noticing  any presure on your dome.

BAKU: Baku straw hats are so refined the straw is first used to form geometric shapes in the weave. It, too, is extremely lightweight like the sisol straw. Genuine baku straw hats are among the most expensive straw hats at Hats Plus. As much art as headwear, most people save their baku straw hats for special events. Water and rough handling is baku’s greatest enemy.

SEA GRASS: Heading down a notch to the middle right-hand side hat is sea grass. For as expensive as baku is, sea grass tends to be inexpensive. Made of actual sea grass from the ocean, this type of straw hat is rarely bleached and often green hued. Frequently, sea grass hats have a more relaxed personality with open weaves for better ventilation and less shade. That is not always the case, but common enough. Usually fairly durable, sea grass straw hats are good for most any occassion.

MILAN: Milan straw hats, like the one in the bottom right corner, are more defined by their construction than material. A milan straw hat has many horizontal layers like clapboard siding on a house. The straw itself can be made of anything from paper to different plastics. The layering process can make these among the heaviest of the straw hats but also among the most durable. Some, certainly not all, milan straw hats are packable. Most can withstand rougher handling than other straws. Milan straw hats also tend to offer pretty good solar protection, too.

With any luck this helps to better distinguish the differences between the straw hats that are available. As always, we welcome your questions and comments.

This image displays 4 different weaves used on panama hats and compares their grades.

 The more tightly woven the straw is the higher the grade.

Grading panama hats started in 1929 with the price fixing at the start of the Great Depression. To prevent inflation from further devasting the economy, the federal government began a price fixing structure that lasted until the economy got back on its feet. As the government wanted to fairly set prices based on the quality of the merchandise, they devised a method of grading the panama straw used in hats.

The graders focused on the type and tightness of the weaves. Weaves were first divided by basic single weaves known as “Brisa,” in Spanish, and  a double weave known as “Cuenca.” After that a simple square tool that looks like a frame for a one-inch picture was used to measure the tightness of the weave. The aperture of this frame was 25mm or about 1 inch. The regulator would set this frame about one-inch from the edge of the fedora’s brim edge and then count the peaks of the cross weaves called carerra moving in a parallel direction. The tighter the weave, the more carerras were counted. That number would be multiplied by two and reconsiciled against a grading chart.

Say a measurement of seven carerras was taken. It would be multiplied by two to get 14. That 14 equals a grade 2. A highly refined grade 20 would consist of 16 carerras.

Other weave designs evolved called the “New-Corder” and the “Torcido.” Above is a sample of all the weaves and their grades.

At Hats Plus, we are proud to present the new line of panama hats that are woven, blocked and finished in Ecuador! Better yet, they are nearly half the price of many big-name panamas by Stetson and Borsalino!

These handsome panama hats from Bigalli come in three different styles. There’s the big-brimmed Golfer offering plenty of pizzazz and shade. There also are two different panama fedoras. One is a stylish bleached white straw and the other is a natural color with a pattern of venting around the crown. Each fedora sports a special pinch guard to help the crown maintain its shape.

Perfect style, excellent function and a great price. Come to Hats Plus to see for your self.

Nathaniel prefers the new Stetson Brewster for its bound-edge brim and thin bow band.

Nathaniel ponders whether he sees a bird or a plane or Superman flying over Hats Plus. As for his choice of hat…

“It’s gotta be the Stetson Brewster,” he said. “You can’t beat a good Panama, but it was the bound-edge brim and skinny bow band that hooked me.”

Dress to impress with the Stetson Brewster, which looks great every place from the boardroom to the barbeque.

Store Manager Tod Canon models his favorite new hat of the summer. It is a straw panama fedora called the Capas New Grad.

Store manager Tod Canon has a new favorite straw hat, just in time for graduation season. It is the Capas New Grad.

There are many reasons to love this rugged panama fedora. The brim has a wire running through it to help you better customize its shape. The crown features a special insert to help prevent the pinch from being crushed. The straw is Teflon treated to better help protect it from moisture. It is made right here in America, and all of that adds up to being one of the best bargains we have for less than $86.

Yet, as with any hat purchase, the hat just has to speak to you.

Tod’s reasons for liking it so much: “It has a good brim size, and it goes with my skin tone.”

See the Capas New Grad and hundreds of other straw hats at Hats Plus online.

The Borsalino Cuenca Fino is a great panama hat distinguished by a broad, shade-giving brim and superb craftsmanship. Tightly hand woven in Cuenca, Ecuador, this handsome straw hat was blocked and finished in Italy.

There is so much more to this hat than shade and style. You really must feel this incredible fedora to believe it.

Tightly hand woven in the village of Cuenca, Ecuador, when you touch the straw, you will be amazed by how thin and paper smooth it is. Even the sweatband is remarkably supple leather.

Treat yourself this summer to the panache and craftsmanship of a Borsalino Cuenca Fino.

Hats Plus employee Shawn hangs up the first straw hats of spring.

Us northern Midwesterners have had a rough go of it for the past month or so. Blizzard, Arctic temperatures, another blizzard, and now a week of steady snow. We look for signs that winter will end. There’s our groundhog Woodstock Willie. There’s spring training. There’s Shamrock Shakes at a certain fast-food chain. And here at Hats Plus we’re doing our part to remind folks that spring is just around the corner by transitioning the store to our spring and summer supply of straw hats!

Those green shoots are really straw Panamas.

Since the first of the month our customers have begun a louder and louder drumbeat. “You, guys, have any straw hats, yet?” “I need a Panama for my daughter’s wedding in May.” “I gotta do something to forget about the winter for 10 minutes; where do you keep the straw hats?”

Spring must be just around the corner because now our straw hats are starting to come out on display.

Plus, this summer’s newest models of straw hats and caps are starting to arrive. Check in soon for an update about these shady, cool summer hats.

In the meantime, hang in there. We’ve got less than a month to go before the calendar says it is spring!

We’re thankful for the fine fur felt,
And hats on which the snow will melt.

Stetson, Kangol, Dobbs, Biltmore
But mostly we are thankful for

Customers who share our passion
for proper toppers in their fashion.

For weekly greetings by regular clients
and visits by Chicago’s sporting giants.

We’re thankful for our loyal staff,
in all the ways they help and laugh.

So, as we take stock of the lives we’re living,
We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving.

Tyrolean fedoras were the first hats to be called a fedora. Men's hats have evolved over the years, but clearly the basic features of the Tyrolean hat can be seen in most modern fedoras.

Many people come into the shop with a preconceived notion that a true fedora must look a certain way because that is what their favorite actor or musician wears.

However, fedoras come in many shapes and sizes. It is almost easier to define them by what they are not. A fedora is virtually any straw or fur felt hat with a crown and brim that is not a top hat, bowler/derby, Homburg or cowboy hat.

Perhaps the most common fedoras come in two different crown shapes. There is the center dent, which has a pinched front and crease down the center. There is also the C-crown, which has a pinched front and a teardrop shape in the crown. From James Cagney’s “Public Enemy” to Johnny Depp’s “Public Enemies,” most of the hats you see will resemble these two styles. Brim sizes can range from Cab Calloway’s extra-wide zoot suit toppers to stingy 1- to 2-inch brims preferred by most men today who are between the ages of 16 and 30.

Considered the most sophisticated fedora crown design is the center crease fedora. The primary difference is that this hat has no front pinch. It is a more conservative design, often made of the highest quality materials.

Then there’s the pork pie hat. This fedora features a crown with a flat top, usually pinched in all around it like a pie crust. There are no side pinches at the top of the crown. It is a dressy hat with a playful side, especially when the snap brim is up. It is a design made especially popular by jazz musicians, particularly saxophonist Lester Young.

A subset of that design is the diamond crown fedora. Exactly like the pork pie in most all ways except that the crown is formed in a diamond shape. This, too, is a snazzy  hat, though perhaps not as common as its brethren.

To see all of these great styles of fedoras, come explore hats-plus.com.