The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[captainc0bra]

Another Nick Fouquet resurrection - this time my vtg Borso. It's my ratrod.

how much does Nick charge to restore a hat like this if you dont mind me asking....?

 

[carouselvic]

According to how people are saying to date these by the serial number, I am assuming this one is 1919? Just found it at an antique store for a cool 18 bucks
Anyone got any info or what have you?

Not a chance that is from 1919.

 

[dh66]

Captainc0bra, I have a very similar model to yours there.
Here's the liner.....

And the sweatband....

Folks in the know around here have pegged mine at early 50s. I imagine yours is pretty close.

 

[mayserwegener]

The label (actually belongs to Robert) I posted is for mid to later 70s until company was sold in the mid 80s. The label has to look the same physically + format.

 

[captainc0bra]

Not a chance that is from 1919.

I don't doubt that. More than anything, I'm trying to point out whether or not using the first two digits of the serial number is an accurate way of dating them. A lot of people are doing this



Cheers

 

[captainc0bra]

Captainc0bra, I have a very similar model to yours there.
Here's the liner.....

And the sweatband....

Folks in the know around here have pegged mine at early 50s. I imagine yours is pretty close.

Thanks mate

 

[alanfgag]

I don't doubt that. More than anything, I'm trying to point out whether or not using the first two digits of the serial number is an accurate way of dating them. A lot of people are doing this.Cheers

Hi Captain, it only applies to the style of later labels shown in the example a few posts above yours. Yours is post war, somewhere around 1960 is my guess.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

brim trim restore not done very will .
Threads not repaired will cause the trim to fall off over time.

 

[jlee562]

how much does Nick charge to restore a hat like this if you dont mind me asking....?

I would use the term "restore" very loosely in this case.

 

[mikespens]

I would use the term "restore" very loosely in this case.

I agree with Jared, from what I've seen of the Fouquet hats it's more about pre-distressing hats than making hats. I'm old school so I don't understand the "styling" of beating up a hat, seems easy enough to do by yourself. Not intending to offend, just my POV.

 

[Hat Dandy]

Captainc0bra, I have a very similar model to yours there.
Here's the liner.....

And the sweatband....

Folks in the know around here have pegged mine at early 50s. I imagine yours is pretty close.

I have the same liner and sweatband. My hat is from the 50s.

 

[jlee562]

I agree with Jared, from what I've seen of the Fouquet hats it's more about pre-distressing hats than making hats. I'm old school so I don't understand the "styling" of beating up a hat, seems easy enough to do by yourself. Not intending to offend, just my POV.

Yeah, that's his thing, and he does what he does, and does it well.

If you want to restore a Borso, I would sent it to Bob At Black Sheep Hatworks, Art Fawcett, or Optimo. Any one of those venders will do a top notch job renovating the hat.

I 'get' the idea behind Fouquet's aesthetic (personally, I own a "relic" guitar that was built to look aged), but some of his choices are puzzling. I don't particularly understand the purpose of the white threading over the binding; particularly if it's meant to be, or appear as, a kind of jury-rigged fix for the binding, when it's not actually "fixing" the spots of the binding that are still lifting up off the brim.

 

[rclark]

I agree with Jared, from what I've seen of the Fouquet hats it's more about pre-distressing hats than making hats. I'm old school so I don't understand the "styling" of beating up a hat, seems easy enough to do by yourself. Not intending to offend, just my POV.

+1. But to each his own I guess!

 

[bond]

Clintfisher I like that borso re interpretation that Nick did. Enjoy it!

 

[clintfisher]

I referred to this hat as a ratrod because that's what it is.

 

[clintfisher]

And just for clarification, all of the hats I've posted from my Stetsons, Resistols and Borsalinos are hats I've brought to Nicks primarily for reblocking and some creative. Alberto who works with Nick has done the work on my hats. Nick does not do this kind of work. He makes hats from scratch. And predistressed is not his primary style. One only needs to see Pharrells hats and the last hat to appear on Justified to see a few examples of Nicks bespoke hats.

 

[jlee562]

Well...I don't want to start a whole thing in this thread, but there is a Fouquet thread: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/show...ick-Fouquet-Hats-(Warning-Image-Heavy)/page10

 

[tommyK]

And just for clarification, all of the hats I've posted from my Stetsons, Resistols and Borsalinos are hats I've brought to Nicks primarily for reblocking and some creative. Alberto who works with Nick has done the work on my hats. Nick does not do this kind of work. He makes hats from scratch. And predistressed is not his primary style. One only needs to see Pharrells hats and the last hat to appear on Justified to see a few examples of Nicks bespoke hats.

It's great the celebrity exposure his hat's get. I like the hats on his website. There is some great work there. Great color combos, styles and creases. Perhaps his website should put a little less emphasis on the pre-distressed look. I can see how some might get the impression this is the preferred way he makes his hats.


p.s. Clintfisher, I think your hat looks great, by the way!

 

[captainc0bra]

Does anyone know about stretching a borsalino? Picked one up that's a 7 1/8 and I'm more of a 7 3/8 - 7 1/2

 

[hatsRme]

Any hat can be easily bumped up a size with the help of a "hat jack" stretcher. But to go up that many sizes requires somebody to rebuild the hat. Sure it's do-able, but probably not yourself, unless you have the knowledge and investment in tooling.