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These hat bodies were hand woven in Peru from toquilla straw (Cardoluvica palmata). Although we usually associate panama hats with Ecuador, the straw material, in one sub-species or another, is available in other S. American countries with western lowlands such as Peru and Colombia. We have customers who prefer this Peuvian body because it is made sturdier, with more "snap" and weight than the famous Ecuadorian models. The hats are stiffened with a natural extract from the Yucca plant. Because of this, fine hats with bigger brims are possible. Many who know South America associate these hats with the Paso Fino Horsemen of Peru. These hat bodies are in turn imported into the USA where The Village Hat Shop contracts for them to be hand blocked into the style that you see pictured here. (As a matter of fact, our blocker is the same individual who blocked the silver-belly, felt western hat that we see worn by George W. Bush.) The great styling and detail is attributable to the craftsmanship that comes from hand-blocking on wooden blocks in the oldest (and unfortunately dying) tradition of the N. American hat industry. A lot of work indeed went into this American marriage of hand weaving in the south and hand blocking in the north. Color: Natural, as pictured.