A Panama hat is much like a fine bottle of champagne; the genuine article hails from just one region of the world. Although the moniker suggests the finely woven straw hat is a product of Panama, a true sombrero de paja toquilla (hat of the toquilla plant) is made in Ecuador. During the 1940s, when this icon was prominent in Hollywood's hottest films, there were more than 2,000 hat weavers. Today the number of professional weavers capable of making the highest quality hats has dwindled to 20. While the weaving of the Panama becomes a lost art, the demand for this classic hat endures. When celebrities like Liam Neeson, Tommy Lee Jones and Tom Sellick want a bespoke Panama, the go to Montecristi Custom Hat Works in Santa Fe, NM, where a super-fino Panama can fetch as much as $30,000.