3 Borsalinos: Pocket, Light, and Feather

[Marc Chevalier]

Heck, wear them with a runny nose, too!

.

 

[feltfan]

Heck, wear them with a runny nose, too!

.

Yeah, that thin, soft vintage Borsalino felt
can't be beat when you have a runny nose.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

.

 

[Colby Jack]

I would love to show those hats to the production dept of Borsalino on my next trip to Italy. There is no way those hats could ever be reproduced today . Enjoy those hats !!!


Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

Steven,
...what would it take to make hats the way they used to?...What process has been dropped, or material left out? How many times have I wished that Hatco could produce a proper Whippet or Strat again. I'm sure you could show them the hats and they would give you a blank stare. The old processes must be written down somewhere, but probably are "enviromentally unfriendly" in some way, which caused a change in the process of making a quality hat....

 

[RBH]

I like them all..
but I really like this one!

 

[bolthead]

Your Borsos are Fabulous. :eusa_clap

I have 3, all Stingy's....but I have to say that my favorite, by far is my Pocket Borso. It's an Amazing little Hat. I love it.

 

[mineral]

Looking at these hats again, I'm starting to wonder about the quality designation in these Borsalino hats. I have observed the following (not in person):

Superior Quality
Extra Superior Quality
Extra Extra Superior Quality

Special Quality

Supreme Quality (these "Feather Weight" ones)

"Augusta" ("Diamante" hats?)
"Trionfo"

I've also seen a type with "Qualita Pur????issima" or something in the San Francisco store Decades of Fashion. (I was in a hurry and didn't have time to write it down.)

I wonder if these things mean anything, and how do they compare with each other? If only I had a sample of each one, but alas, my wallet and my luck doesn't take me that far.

 

[feltfan]

I have asked the same question...

I do suspect that Trionfo is a style, not
a quality grade (like Diamante, Mimosa, Pocket, Como,
Featherweight, etc). Note that the hat Brad B.
posted in the other thread has an "XX" grade,
too. Yes, they used the X system, like Stetson,
sometimes too.

Like the Stetson "X" system, my guess is that the
actual quality of the grades changed over the years, too.
So a Superior Quality from the late 1940s might be twice the
hat of a Superior Quality of the late 1970s. But unlike Stetson,
Borsalino maintained a very high level of quality until the 1980s.

I have decided that one can go mad trying to figure out
the quality ratings on Borsalino hats. If someone like Besdor
has a key to them, I'd be curious to see it. Until then, I'm
going to treat it like the instructions for my Italian espresso
machine- interesting to refer to, but tangentially related to
anything I really need to know.

Looking at these hats again, I'm starting to wonder about the quality designation in these Borsalino hats. I have observed the following (not in person):

Superior Quality
Extra Superior Quality
Extra Extra Superior Quality

Special Quality

Supreme Quality (these "Feather Weight" ones)

"Augusta" ("Diamante" hats?)
"Trionfo"

I've also seen a type with "Qualita Pur????issima" or something in the San Francisco store Decades of Fashion. (I was in a hurry and didn't have time to write it down.)

I wonder if these things mean anything, and how do they compare with each other? If only I had a sample of each one, but alas, my wallet and my luck doesn't take me that far.

 

[mineral]

Until then, I'm
going to treat it like the instructions for my Italian espresso
machine- interesting to refer to, but tangentially related to
anything I really need to know.

I suppose that's as good a way to deal with those things as any.