Panama hat miners of the California Gold Rush traveled to California via the Isthmus of Panama and Pacific Mail Steamship Company. In 1906 , U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt visited the construction site of the Panama Canal and was photographed wearing a Panama hat, which further increased the hats' popularity. Although the Panama hat continues to provide a livelihood for thousands of Ecuadorians, fewer than a dozen weavers capable of making the finest "Montecristi superfinos" remain. Production in Ecuador is dwindling, due to economic problems in Ecuador and competition from Chinese hat producers. The tamsui hat was a straw hat made in Formosa
Hats (album) chart in early 1990, becoming the group's only single chart entry in that country. In November 2012 Virgin Records released two-CD "Collector's Edition" versions of "Hats" and its predecessor "A Walk Across the Rooftops" in the UK and Europe, each containing a remastered version of the original album plus a second CD of bonus tracks. The remastering process was overseen by original engineer Calum Malcolm, along with contributions by Paul Buchanan and Robert Bell, who chose the songs for the bonus CD. On its initial release in 1989, "Hats" received highly positive reviews from music critics. Describing the album as