Mister Crew offers up a history lesson on the quintessential summer hat with an article from The Strand magazine, published in 1902, reporting on the newest fad of the time—the Panama hat.

A good Panama may be worn a lifetime, can be blocked to any shape, and is exceedingly comfortable to the head. It is, in short, a summer luxury, and only its costliness has prevented it from being universally worn.

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