A lifelong hat enthusiast himself, it was Cain’s inability to find a great Panama in Singapore, where he’s lived
since 1989, that led to him founding his own headwear business in 2012, Hat of Cain. Perpetually sundrenched,
tropical Singapore is the perfect place to wear a Panama hat — it’s even on the same latitude as Ecuador (the name
of which means equator), the country where these handwoven wonders are made. “Not only here, but across Southeast
Asia, there wasn’t really anyone selling authentic Panama hats. I took the opportunity to fill the niche, setting
out to revive hat culture in this region,” Cain says.
He’s done well. What started out as a passion project for Cain quickly became so successful that a couple of years
ago, he was able to quit his corporate day job and focus full-time on Hat of Cain. “I love what I do,” Cain says
with a grin, trademark Cuban cigar in hand. “Being able to meet interesting people and provide a beautiful product
that, when someone puts it on, they feel a little more dapper, more self-confident — a bit sharper. That’s
incredibly satisfying.” In establishing Hat of Cain, he says, “Our goal was to offer great quality Panama hats at
really reasonable and affordable prices, while at the same time educating people about the craft involved, as well
as the science of style and fit.”
Hat of Cain’s Panamas are exclusively imported from trusted dealers in Ecuador, a half-dozen dependable sources with
whom Cain has built relationships over the years. (To learn more about the provenance and painstaking craftsmanship
that goes into making an authentic Panama hat of the sort sold by HoC, read our definitive articleon the topic. The brand’s new
relationship with The Rake resulted from another personal encounter — with this publication’s founder, Wei Koh. “Wei
came into the store one day, we got talking and began thinking about which of our hats were the most
quintessentially ‘rakish’,” Cain says.
The tightly curated selection the two decided upon caters to rakes of all stripes — from the louche rocker (with a
distressed-grey homage to Keith Richards) to the swingin’ sophisticate (a style named for Frank Sinatra), the
Casablanca-prowling player (the Bogart), the irreverent hipster (in the slim-brimmed Jimmy Boy), the man of
ultra-refined tastes (with the fully handmade William), or the urbane classicist (the Cuban Panama). “We just chose
a selection of hats that we felt that were very versatile and easy to wear, either casually dressed with a linen
shirt or coupled with more formal tailoring,” Cain remarks. “Whether you’re after something traditional or a younger
look, it’s all there.”
Cain issues an open invitation to Rake readers to drop in to his store, situated in a charming colonial shophouse on
Singapore’s east coast, for a negroni (and a stogie if you fancy) once the world starts travelling once again. Until
then, you can always take your head to the tropics in a Hat of Cain Panama.
