[conspire] Ecuador hats

[Deirdre Saoirse Moen]

On Sat, Apr 16, 2022, at 10:12 AM, paulz at ieee.org wrote:
> https://sundayafternoons.com/collections/mens  has a series of 
> "adventure" hats that provide superior shade for the back of the head 
> and neck.

Ehh, not impressed. Their "Havana" hat is 90% paper and 10% polyester and lists no country of origin.

https://sundayafternoons.com/collections/mens/products/havana-hat (check the "Care and Content" tab).

If you want *actual real hats*, I suggest the indie options on Etsy, e.g, this one made in Ecuador:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/772473398/natural-toquilla-with-crimson-ribbon

Note that their sizing runs a bit different than the international standards. I'm a 7-1/8 or 57cm metric and the large end of a Medium. 7-1/4 is 58cm metric and internationally a large. This shop's sizing has 7-1/8 at 58cm, but large is 7-3/8 (59cm) rather than 7-1/4. Int'l chart conversions here:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/88172105177760007/

Toquilla is also called "the Panama hat plant" so that's a good search term (though different Latin American countries have different colloquial names for it): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carludovica_palmata

So here's how I suggest shopping on Etsy:

1. Never, ever sort low to high price, because then you get all the cheap-ass AliExpress resell-with-a-markup. Better to sort from high to low, then go down to your price range.
2. Look for vendors/makers who specialize in *one thing*.
3. Always look for country of origin and materials in listings (if a vendor makes their own stuff, country of origin is implied, though).
4. Always read reviews to make sure customers were satisfied and shipping was not a nightmare.

In general, I prefer shippers in the US, especially in the current shipping climate. That said, before war seemed imminent between Russia and Ukraine, I did order from a Russian shop and got the order in a reasonably timely manner.

Also, there are some amazeballs milliners on Etsy. Here are a few of the fun things they have:

1. Your basic femme fatale "part the crowd" hat: https://www.etsy.com/listing/587052006/large-brim-black-floppy-hat-for-royal
2. Your basic goth vampire thing with feathers: https://www.etsy.com/listing/158872124/made-to-order-sci-fi-fantasy-headdress
3. And the "I'm hiding in the lily pond" hat: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1017334077/thg2748-tan-ivory-and-mauve-purple-hat

Deirdre