Relatively speaking, most of us Gringos have big heads. The advantage of the custom made hats is that they fit right and look right. The traditional sombrero was made from long thin braids of split palm frond that were sewn coil upon coil around a mold. The style looks similar to Fletch's. The finer the braids and the tighter they were sewn determined the quality of the finished product. The highest quality hats were actually quite heavy, but they lasted for years, and were admired by all. I brought a couple back with me, and still have them. I have a number of photos of me and my fellow PCVs wearing them, since we all wore sombreros. If I remember correctly, they cost Q5 or Q6 when the Quetzal was equal to the dollar, and I was making Q113 a month. Everyday hats that the locals wore were available in all the markets for Q1 or so.