Don't sweat Father's Day gift giving. Every dad can use a new summer hat or a cap.

Ties? Got ’em. Cufflinks? Got ’em, never uses ’em. Cologne? Got it. Rarely uses it. Arts-and-Crafts projects? You’ve outgrown making them.

What on earth is left to get Dad for Father’s Day?

Why not get him a nice summer straw hat or a lightweight linen cap? Dad will look great sporting a hat this summer. Plus, it will help protect him from the sun’s harsh rays. You will definitely be his favorite if you keep him looking sharp while saving him from skin cancer.

Consider the All-American straw fedora like the Stetson Pasadena. It delivers classic style in a sand-colored straw or black. Made by Stetson, you know it is a quality fedora. Best of all, you get all of that for fewer than $100, so you won’t break the bank.

Maybe your father is more of a cap-wearing type of guy. Why not get him a tried and true Linen Newsboy Cap? Relatively inexpensive, these 100% linen caps are American made and come in 10 different colors.

If neither of those will do, don’t worry. Hats-Plus has more than 600 models of hats from which to choose online.

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.

Gardening is a breeze with the plentiful shade delivered by the Stetson Rustic. Even lifeguards will love how this straw hat's brim is so wide.

Spring means the start of gardening season, and even in March and April you should protect yourself from the sun’s harsh rays.

Stetson’s brand new “Rustic” straw hat is the best friend of gardners, lifeguards and anybody else who spends a lot of time outdoors. This summer straw is made from thick palm leaves that help block the sun’s powerful UV rays. It has a very wide 3 3/4-inch downturn brim, which provides about as much shade coverage as any hat we carry.

As a summer hat, it is fairly light weight. The crown has vents on each side to help vent the heat from your head and allow breezes to help cool you.

Great for both men and women, this straw hat has an elastic headband to provide the best possible fit. Windy days are no trouble at all with the attached chin strap.

Gardening, lawn work and the great outdoors have never been more rewarding than with the comfortable protection of shade from a Stetson Rustic.

The Hat Whisperer enjoys Boralino's C-Straw for a great summer fedora.

This year Edwin favors the Borsalino C-Straw.

“I like the teardrop style and the band,” Edwin said. “It’s one of the only hats I like with a smaller brim.”

It is a highly functional hat, too.

“It’s a casual hat that dresses up nicely,” Edwin added.

See one for yourself at Hats Plus.

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.

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.

Trisha looks especially sunny in her navy blue bamboo Kangol Mowbray.  Why does she like it so much?

“It has a small brim and is light weight,” she said.

Stylish and affordable, the Mowbray comes in 8 different colors to suite any wardrobe.

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!

Judging solely by the trailers, Matt Damon’s latest romantic thriller will be loaded with great men’s hats.

The premise of the film seems to be that a promising young politician (Damon) is fated to live his life a certain way. When he meets a beautiful dancer played by Emily Blunt, he breaks with the fate that is scripted for him. Enter a sinister “big brother” agency, led by Terence Stamp, that wants to set fate back on track, forcing Damon and Blunt to run for their lives—or at least their love.

Expected to be the first big blockbuster of the year, “The Adjustment Bureau” releases March 4.

Matt’s character is seen running all over the trailer wearing what appears to be a fresh, straw stingy brim fedora with a center dent crown and a brightly colored band. Fans might want to check out our Milan Pinch Straw Hat in the color “metal” for a similar look.

The apparent villains kick it old school with more traditional fedoras. Stamp wears a broader brimmed fedora similar to a Guerra Classico. This dangerous-looking threesome in the picture linked here appear to be wearing the following hats: Dobbs Dayton, Guerra GU and Dobbs Savoy.

Think you can identify more hats than that? Write in and tell us what you see!