Ask a question, get an answer

[Rmccamey]

If you are thinking about customs, there are a number of great hat makers out there. I know many on the Lounge have had great success with Gannon hats and also Phoenix. Art Fawcett is another although he will be retiring soon and may not be taking orders.

Gannon



Phoenix

it definitely does Thank you for the info.
I think i'm going to bite the bullet because, I really do love grey, my wardrobe is mainly white, black, lots of black, some grey. So this grey with black matches my wardrobe exactly.

Does the brim reshape and stay with some steam? Your brim looks good but the ebay listing it needs a little TLC

Oh lawd, only 2 days on this forum and I've already bought 2 hats?
(My coworker in the States is going to help me with shipping so I'm set for that)
This is going to be so bad on my wallet

 

[JessieJames]

Good questions again JJ.
Crown @4 1/2” my crease.
Open crown @ 5 1/2”.
Brim 2 3/4”.
Felt creases like a dream dry and stays like a good dog.
Guess @ 1960s...not sure, but it’s an era of good Borsa’s.
It’s one of my better Borsalinos and i really like Borsa’s!!
It’s a fine hat in anybody’s book or i wouldn’t have suggested it. Imho
Hope that helps.
B

Alan was telling me that Borsalino's fit a little small and the measurements from the seller 7.5" x 6" is kind of in between sizes, but I also don't know how accurate they measured. What's your experience been with sizing?

 

[Frunobulax]

This is going to be so bad on my wallet

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. And matching hat.

Listen to these guys, though. They won't steer you wrong.

They'd steer me wrong. But not you.

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[Bamaboots]

They'd steer me wrong. But not you.

Now my feelings are hurt.

 

[JessieJames]

Been there. Done that. Got the t-shirt. And matching hat.

Listen to these guys, though. They won't steer you wrong.

They'd steer me wrong. But not you.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

good to know, because I'm relying on the folks here a lot to steer me in the right direction, I didn't think I'd be getting hats so early on and was going to learn a bit more but I trust the knowledge and passion here and well, sometimes you just gotta bite the bullet

 

[BobHufford]

Oh lawd, only 2 days on this forum and I've already bought 2 hats?

Welcome to the forum Jessie! You're not even close to the record for hats bought in a short time frame. If you and Dr. Max (@drmaxtejeda ) were the same size I'd invest in Orville Redenbacher, kick back and watch the fur (felt) fly.

 

[JessieJames]

Welcome to the forum Jessie! You're not even close to the record for hats bought in a short time frame. If you and Dr. Max (@drmaxtejeda ) were the same size I'd invest in Orville Redenbacher, kick back and watch the fur (felt) fly.

I do love me some good popcorn

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Welcome to the forum Jessie! You're not even close to the record for hats bought in a short time frame. If you and Dr. Max (@drmaxtejeda ) were the same size I'd invest in Orville Redenbacher, kick back and watch the fur (felt) fly.

LOL!! I keep saying I will stop soon. Then an exceptional hat, or one I've been looking for popops up.

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Alan was telling me that Borsalino's fit a little small and the measurements from the seller 7.5" x 6" is kind of in between sizes, but I also don't know how accurate they measured. What's your experience been with sizing?

Look, Jessie! This table is very helpful. Never trust when a seller tells you he took an interior measurement with a flexible tape. That is very difficult to do precisely. Just ask the seller to measure as accurately as possible the front-to-back and side-to-side of the head opening. Explain that even 1/8 of an inch can make a big difference in hat size.

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

 

[TheOldFashioned]

Oh she is a beauty. And why would you vouch for this hat? What makes it "good"?
I don't see info on the fur quality or the year?
And I wish there was crown height information, the seller doesn't allow for me to send questions in the "contact seller" and the seller isn't shipping to anywhere but the USA

looks like it'll need a bit of reshaping on the brim
I actually don't have a light grey in my collection and have been wanting one

there's also this one but it's more expensive https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1940s-Gray-Borsalino-Alessandria-Wind-Trolley-Fur-Felt-Fedora-Hat-6-7-8/283187279549?_trkparms=aid=888007&algo=DISC.MBE&ao=1&asc=20131227121020&meid=b31711eab9bc4e8b942d3961849313c2&pid=100009&rk=1&rkt=1&sd=123700591063&itm=283187279549&_trksid=p2047675.c100009.m1982

Borsalino's are sort of a gold standard for vintage fedoras, especially in regards to the quality of their felt. ***EDIT: previous text should be ignored as it cannot be proven on my part***

Pinning down a system of trying to identify quality levels and/or age based on "tells" such as the liner or tag shape/colors or something else is still one of great mysteries that hasn't been fully unraveled here. (A member has recently taken it upon himself to document and build a catalog of characteristics of his hats and others posted here to try to crack this nut.) There are some generalities that are accepted to get a ballpark idea of age. Fortunately, the forum has a few active European members that are probably the closest thing to resident experts on Borsalino's, but Borsalino's hold on to their secrets well.

Regarding the link you provided, a few remarks. First, it is a very nice Borsalino, but in my humble opinion not $300 nice. That particular eBay seller is well known around here and sometimes the butt of jokes. He often does carry nice hats, but most here would agree that his asking prices are grossly overinflated. To be fair, members have purchased hats from this seller at a lower price than what is listed, but you have to be prepared to haggle for a reduced amount. That being said, the fact there is only one rather generic picture sort of makes me question the description already. I would definitely want to see more before dropping that many loonies. Also, the brim is only 2", affectionately known as a "stingie brim" around here. Nothing wrong with that per se, but most here prefer more brim width on a fedora. (Full disclosure, my brims range from 2" on a pork pie to 2.75" on that Champ B-17.) Finally, I'd definitely question this hat being from the 40s based on the fact that WWII had a major affect on Europe at the time. It's somewhat rare to find European hats, especially Italian and German hats, from this timeframe or earlier. They exist but are somewhat few and far between.

Regarding @AbbaDatDeHat's recommendation, he's another well respected member of the forum with quite the collection of drool inducing hats. He's also one of the kindest people I know, and has provided guidance to me for both hats and leather jackets. I have made several purchases after soliciting his advice. If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with the hat he recommended. But as I mentioned in the other thread, you have go with what suits your style.

 

[drmaxtejeda]

Borsalino's are sort of a gold standard for vintage fedoras, especially in regards to the quality of their felt. Pinning down a system of trying to identify quality levels and/or age based on "tells" such as the liner or tag shape/colors or something else is still one of great mysteries that hasn't been fully unraveled here. (A member has recently taken it upon himself to document and build a catalog of characteristics of his hats and others posted here to try to crack this nut.) There are some generalities that are accepted to get a ballpark idea of age. Fortunately, the forum has a few active European members that are probably the closest thing to resident experts on Borsalino's, but Borsalino's hold on to their secrets well.

Regarding the link you provided, a few remarks. First, it is a very nice Borsalino, but in my humble opinion not $300 nice. That particular eBay seller is well known around here and sometimes the butt of jokes. He often does carry nice hats, but most here would agree that his asking prices are grossly overinflated. To be fair, members have purchased hats from this seller at a lower price than what is listed, but you have to be prepared to haggle for a reduced amount. That being said, the fact there is only one rather generic picture sort of makes me question the description already. I would definitely want to see more before dropping that many loonies. Also, the brim is only 2", affectionately known as a "stingie brim" around here. Nothing wrong with that per se, but most here prefer more brim width on a fedora. (Full disclosure, my brims range from 2" on a pork pie to 2.75" on that Champ B-17.) Finally, I'd definitely question this hat being from the 40s based on the fact that WWII had a major affect on Europe at the time. It's somewhat rare to find European hats, especially Italian and German hats, from this timeframe or earlier. They exist but are somewhat few and far between.

Regarding @AbbaDatDeHat's recommendation, he's another well respected member of the forum with quite the collection of drool inducing hats. He's also one of the kindest people I know, and has provided guidance to me for both hats and leather jackets. I have made several purchases after soliciting his advice. If I had to choose between the two, I'd go with the hat he recommended. But as I mentioned in the other thread, you have go with what suits your style.

True, true.

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

it definitely does Thank you for the info.
I think i'm going to bite the bullet because, I really do love grey, my wardrobe is mainly white, black, lots of black, some grey. So this grey with black matches my wardrobe exactly.

Does the brim reshape and stay with some steam? Your brim looks good but the ebay listing it needs a little TLC

Oh lawd, only 2 days on this forum and I've already bought 2 hats?
(My coworker in the States is going to help me with shipping so I'm set for that)
This is going to be so bad on my wallet

We look forward to seeing it when you get it. Welcome to the lounge.
B

 

[Bamaboots]

Borsalino's are sort of a gold standard for vintage fedoras, especially in regards to the quality of their felt.

How so?

 

[TheOldFashioned]

How so?

If you are wanting a scientific explanation I cannot provide one. If you want a scholarly journal article that defines features, uses analysis, and comes up with an objective ranking system I cannot cite one, though I did not spend much time looking. Nor do I have the intention of purchasing and mutilating vintage hats to conduct such experiments. So for arguments sake, let's assume an objective solution does not readily exist at present.

In my own personal experience, my two Borsalino's are the nicest felts I have. I can put any crease I want with little effort into my nutria homburg. In fact, bucking typical homburg style of only a center dent I include a slight pinch because it seems such a waste not to do more with the felt. And then the fedora is the lightest weight hat I own, is velvet soft to the touch, deepest black in color, and creases well too, though different from the nutria. Are creasability, feel, weight, and color key features that define great felt? Obviously a sample size of two isn't sufficient to make a fair assessment, so for arguments sake I'll throw my own personal experience out the window as well.

While quasi-blanket statements (I did include "sort of" after all for a reason) about something subjective like characteristics of a fashion accessory are probably foolish, I think you will find those here that would agree that the quality of vintage Borsalino's are of a high standard. Are they "gold" standard? Perhaps, perhaps not. In the sake of fairness, however, I concede that one would just as likely find individuals to profess an opposing opinion. So at best, let's say push, although in reality subjectivity should be thrown out by default.

Since I can't support my statement above I will happily retract it and strike it from the record. My apologies to you, @JessieJames if I steered you in the wrong direction of making a purchase, and any other current or future members who happen to read the post.


***bell ringing***
Unclean...unclean...unclean.

 

[Hat and Rehat]

I have yet to even touch, much less own, a Borsalino. I took delivery of a Chapeaux Moderne last Friday however that seems to behave the way you described your Borsalinos. Am I also banished to the leper colony?

Sent from my LGMP260 using Tapatalk

 

[Bamaboots]

If you are wanting a scientific explanation I cannot provide one. If you want a scholarly journal article that defines features, uses analysis, and comes up with an objective ranking system I cannot cite one, though I did not spend much time looking. Nor do I have the intention of purchasing and mutilating vintage hats to conduct such experiments. So for arguments sake, let's assume an objective solution does not readily exist at present.

In my own personal experience, my two Borsalino's are the nicest felts I have. I can put any crease I want with little effort into my nutria homburg. In fact, bucking typical homburg style of only a center dent I include a slight pinch because it seems such a waste not to do more with the felt. And then the fedora is the lightest weight hat I own, is velvet soft to the touch, deepest black in color, and creases well too, though different from the nutria. Are creasability, feel, weight, and color key features that define great felt? Obviously a sample size of two isn't sufficient to make a fair assessment, so for arguments sake I'll throw my own personal experience out the window as well.

While quasi-blanket statements (I did include "sort of" after all for a reason) about something subjective like characteristics of a fashion accessory are probably foolish, I think you will find those here that would agree that the quality of vintage Borsalino's are of a high standard. Are they "gold" standard? Perhaps, perhaps not. In the sake of fairness, however, I concede that one would just as likely find individuals to profess an opposing opinion. So at best, let's say push, although in reality subjectivity should be thrown out by default.

Since I can't support my statement above I will happily retract it and strike it from the record. My apologies to you, @JessieJames if I steered you in the wrong direction of making a purchase, and any other current or future members who happen to read the post.


***bell ringing***
Unclean...unclean...unclean.

Oh.

 

[scottyrocks]

View attachment 166559 View attachment 166560
Good questions.
Simply because i have the same hat and it is a very fine example of wonderful thin felt and a pleasure to wear. I have no tie to the seller.
B

I can 'feel' the felt just by looking at the picture.

 

[The Jackal]

I've run across a few hats recently with the letters WGF stamped in the sweatband. Can anyone tell me what this means?

I tried searching for it, but the search function here won't search those 3 letters, and a google search turns up some pretty crazy results for what WGF might mean.

 

[scottyrocks]

I've run across a few hats recently with the letters WGF stamped in the sweatband. Can anyone tell me what this means?

I tried searching for it, but the search function here won't search those 3 letters, and a google search turns up some pretty crazy results for what WGF might mean.

It means that Wilfred G. Ferschlugginer bought a lot of hats.

 

[Steinbockhase]

I've run across a few hats recently with the letters WGF stamped in the sweatband. Can anyone tell me what this means?

I tried searching for it, but the search function here won't search those 3 letters, and a google search turns up some pretty crazy results for what WGF might mean.

WGF = wild goat fur
Just kidding. I think Scott is right, probably just the initials of the person who bought the hats. You could post some photos for better judgement.