Gallery - Borsalino Alessandria

[gtdean48]

Silver Belly, 2 1/2 inch brim

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Whoops. I deleted this post after learning what Jimmy and others shared. Read below. Thx!

 

[jimmy the lid]

I've read that "Alessandria" is not really a Borsalino model name but rather the name of the town where the business is/was located.

I've got a different take on that one, Gene.

Alessandria is the town in Italy where Borsalino was founded. Accordingly, the word "Alessandria" appears in a variety of Borsalino hats -- just as if Stetson included "Philadelphia" in a similar fashion.

That being said, though -- "Alessandria" has been used to denote a particular model, as well: namely, Borsalino's thin-ribbon OR-style lid, like the one posted by gtd to start off this thread. I have specific recollections of this particular style of hat being marketed as the "Alessandria" at least as far back as the early 80's (since I didn't have the money to buy a Borsalino, but drooled over them in the Worth & Worth catalogue...). I don't know when Borsalino first started using "Alessandria" as a model name, and it would be interesting to track that down.

Regardless of when the practice actually started, I think it's fair to say that "Alessandria", when used as a model name, refers to Borsalino's thin-ribbon OR-style lid. Here's one...

There's more discussion on this topic here.


Cheers,
JtL

 

[Rick Blaine]

...got this one from Mr. Jimmy Pierce a couple of years back.

 

[Aerol]

Bencraft lists a Borsalino Alessandria as a model: http://www.bencrafthats.com/product.php?pid=249&subcname=Borsalino

 

[kaosharper1]

I think if it says "Alessandria" on the sweatband, it's the model name. Otherwise its just the factory. Here's mine. The color is ivory, a kind of greenish grey:

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

I think if it says "Alessandria" on the sweatband, it's the model name. Otherwise its just the factory.

I didn't know that part as I don't own one of Borsalino's OR 'tributes'. Thanks, Jimmy and others for filling me in. I deleted my earlier shots as they really don't apply among the Borso' thin ribbons.

 

[mineral]

Just for "academic" reference, am I right to say that this model is always of the "Qualita Superiore" rank (as marked in the lining)? Can anyone gainsay me on this with a picture of a (vintage) example?

Am I also right to say that the model has been made to be sold here in the US? Does anyone have a (vintage) example of this model where not a single English word can be found, and if so, would you mind sharing?

 

[kaosharper1]

Mine has that ranking and its probably from the late 1950s. However, it is marked 7 1/4 though it fits like a 7 3/8 so I wondered whether it was for the UK though I bought it from a family in Texas who said their father bought it new and hardly wore it. It is in mint condition. Here's a pic of the interior: