Copying vintage hats.....

[Fedora]

I got this pic from a fellow who wanted a non Indy fedora.

vintage borsa

And here is what I made him. Beaver hat

Fedora

 

[Matt Deckard]

The hat you made looks good. We need some pics of it on his head.

http://www.villagehatshop.com/product355.html
/\
The pic is of the new all beaver Borsalino that they started selling last year. It's not vintage though the design is old school. though felt is still cheesy Borsalino felt.


Here is a vintage one I think you could make a good copy of
1930's and on Roots head.

 

[Fedora]

Thanks Matt. My bad. I assumed it was vintage but did not do the research. This was my first hat with wind trolley!! I put a working wind trolley on it as opposed to the "just for looks" trolley. Perhaps Jim will post a pic of it on his head. regards, Steve

 

[Matt Deckard]

Your hat looks better than that Borsy.

Will you be at the summit?

 

[Fedora]

Thanks! I will not be able to make the summit, but I am seriously planning on next year's. I have a friend who moved out west and I will kill two birds with one stone, hopefully.
I am donating an Indy fedora for the summit, so check it out and see how much I have improved. Making 400 plus hats tend to do that to a fellow.
I look back on those early hats and grimace!! No matter how much you know, practice is absoluetly essential.

I am looking forward to working up some of this beaver Portugal 75 gram felt bodies. I think it will be perfect for the vintage hats that I will eventually evolve into. Finally, a dress body with no stiffener in the crown!!


Oh, I got some interesting news the other day, from Marc who talked to the equipment guy that sold Graham some of his production equipment. Now, this guy told Marc, that there were only 3 feltmakers in the world that were still making good felt. And, the Portugal company was one of them. Milano also uses this supplier for his dress hats. Aside from Optimo and Milano, I do not know of any other hatter that uses that felt from Portugal. A shame, as the prices are quite reasonable and would elevate the standard for dress hats here. But, that is another topic, for another day. regards, Steve

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Whoever that lady on the right in that pic is, she has an awesome Caberet-esque 1920s flapper hairstyle!

 

[fedoralover]

Steve, that hat looks fantastic, you have really improved tremendously. I look forward to seeing the Portugal felt hats.

fedoralover

 

[Daniel Riser]

I have got to leave San Diego and move to LA to go to these events. The closest thing San Diego has to a re-enactment is... The Beach Boys/Classic Woody show in Encinitas...

Alas.

Matt and Root,

The next one Lauren and I will be there with bells on.

 

[besdor]

Borsalino does use Fepsa for their low end hats . It's what they call 93 quality . But it's real junk . I think they are probably getting buy on their name . Even though their best hat is pure beaver , it dosn't hold as well as hats from Monticristi hat works or Optimo's .

 

[BellyTank]

I had a look at some new 'Beaver' Borsas a few days ago at my local Hat Shop-
not so impressive... and the styling is not so nice.

What about this style from Borsalino?
I haven't seen them around-

"Borsalino Qualit?ɬ† Superiore ala 8"

Vintage, floppy, stovepipe crown (compared to the Allesandra and other styles with a lot of taper) but in Rabbit felt.

B
T

 

[Johnnysan]

Vintage, floppy, stovepipe crown (compared to the Allesandra and other styles with a lot of taper) but in Rabbit felt.

B
T

BT...

Can you tell me what vintage this hat is...I picked up a Borsalino a few days ago that someone had bashed into a porkpie. When I pushed the felt back out, it looks exactly like this - except that it is in serious need of being re-blocked. This will definitely be the look I'll shoot for! Thanks for a very timely and helpful photo!

 

[BellyTank]

Johnnysan-
that floppy Borsa is brand new- not vintage at all!

Only costs around $220, if you can find one...

B
T

 

[Johnnysan]

Too rich for my blood...

Nah...I'll just rework my $8 vintage Borsa instead.

 

[SHARPETOYS]

Fedora Maker Of "Ultra Custom Handcrafted Hats"

I got this pic from a fellow who wanted a non Indy fedora.

vintage borsa

And here is what I made him. Beaver hat

Fedora

Very nice Ultra Custom Handcrafted Hat Steve. I will order another one from you when you get the 75 gram weight pure beaver hat bodies.!!

You can pay more but you won't get more than a fedora from Adventurebilt. :drum:

 

[Michael D]

Bow on the right side?

What about this style from Borsalino?
I haven't seen them around-

"Borsalino Qualit?ɬ† Superiore ala 8"

My Borsa that I bought 5 years ago in Milan looks like this one only it's in charcoal. If you look close you'll notice that the bow flairs to the front of the hat. If we could see the inside I believe that we'd see that actually the "front" of this hat in this pic is really the back and that the bow is on the right side of the hat and the flair is to the back. This is also like my hat (bow on the right). Pretty strange that the bow is on the right, but maybe it's a special feature.

Mike

 

[BellyTank]

I don't think there's any mistaking front and back on a modern Borsalino-
-no way in the World.
The hat in the pic IS in a hat shop in Milan.

B
T

 

[Brad Bowers]

If that's the case, it makes me think it's a woman's hat. But who knows? Some women's hats have the bow on the left, like a man's.

Brad

 

[Michael D]

I know where the pic came from, Capelleria Melegari in Milan.

Look at the other pics on the web page. All of them are facing to the left, showing the bow. Imagine that they have this Borsalino with the bow on the right. To keep the flow with the other pics they pinch the back of the hat and shoot the pic so the hat looks like the others.

There's no question that my hat has the bow on the right and I'm sure it's not a woman's hat.

Mike

 

[BellyTank]

...but the front and back on modern Borsas are different- there's a kind of a flat/plateau at the front where you can snap the brim down-

I think the photo is correct.
B
T

 

[Michael D]

...but the front and back on modern Borsas are different- there's a kind of a flat/plateau at the front where you can snap the brim down-

I think the photo is correct.
B
T

Not on mine. I can snap down either the front or the back and it looks the same. For that matter I can pinch the front or back and except for the position of the bow you can't tell the difference.

Why is it so hard to accept the possibility that a hat company would choose to put the bow on the right side for a particular model?

Besides how many hats have you seen that flair the bow towards to front? I haven't seen any.

Mike