The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[BobHufford]

Gents, my offering once again to one the distinguished hat threads in the Lounge! 50s Borsalino 'Thirty' in the color of 'Cola'. Am I stoked? Ya betta believe it! A sweet addiction indeed!

Oh my. I love that! If that is a US size then I love it even more!

 

[NewJack]

Oh my. I love that! If that is a US size then I love it even more!

Thanks so much! And you know what? It is! Which is makes this a very rare find for me and my noggin!

 

[NewJack]

So nice! What's the story? Where did you pick it up? Do tell.

Happen to scouring the Borsa section on FleaBay and boom! I couldn't believe it!! It was in the Borsa box and I simply chose to read further and Wah La!! A rare gem for a big noggin!! Oh my!! Be still my heart!!

 

[Steve1857]

Hi folks. Today, I was lucky enough to find this hat in a thrift shop in my home town of Elsinore, Denmark. Perhaps not the prettiest Borsalino, but interesting and very wearable nonetheless.







I really like the scarlet hat liner:-



Any input as to age, style etc. would, as always, be greatly appreciated.

 

[mayserwegener]

Nice find! I would say mid 1960s to mid 1970s.

 

[Steve1857]

Thanks, Steve, but why?

I thought, too, that it was vintage because of the hat liner maroon/scarlet colour & the hat liner Borsalino Giuseppe & Fretello logo, which I haven't yet seen before here in Denmark.

But what clues say to you, mid 60s to mid 70s?

 

[Steve1857]

The felt hat band with the square felt "bow" instead of a material /cotton hat band and classic bow suggests a retro 50s look, perhaps.

 

[mayserwegener]

Style, paper label, sweatband, other components. In the later 1970s the paper label (different format) will have the production year. I don't think it's earlier than mid 1960s.

 

[mayserwegener]

The felt hat band with the square felt "bow" instead of a material /cotton hat band and classic bow suggests a retro 50s look, perhaps.

Actually felt bands go way back. It's more the style + form.

 

[Steve1857]

Thanks, Steve. Always great to learn from your knowledge.

Did you notice, it's another black leather sweatband? They seem to be common here.

 

[mayserwegener]

Was it sold by a Danish store? The vendor might have requested black. I think it's a color coordination thing.

 

[TheDane]

I have a modern (woolen?) low quality Borsa, bought at the hat shop "Petitgas" in Copenhagen. It has a black sweatband as well. I'm pretty sure, that the black sweats weren't made especially for the extremely minute Danish Borsa-market, though

 

[Steve1857]

Was it sold by a Danish store? The vendor might have requested black. I think it's a color coordination thing.

Yes, Steve, it was originally sold by a Danish men's store. The name is on the sweatband. I'm sure you're right about the colour coordination thing.

 

[Steve1857]

I have a modern (woolen?) low quality Borsa, bought at the hat shop "Petitgas" in Copenhagen. It has a black sweatband as well. I'm pretty sure, that the black sweats weren't made especially for the extremely minute Danish Borsa-market, though

I'm sure they weren't either Ole

I've bought a few hats from Petitgas, too. Now I've discovered I can find vintage hats cheaper by just looking round places. It's a great new hobby.

 

[mayserwegener]

I have a modern (woolen?) low quality Borsa, bought at the hat shop "Petitgas" in Copenhagen. It has a black sweatband as well. I'm pretty sure, that the black sweats weren't made especially for the extremely minute Danish Borsa-market, though

They were not made specifically (they were available everywhere) for Danish market but they could have been available by order option in the time of this hat.

 

[Steve1857]

They were not made specifically (they were available everywhere) for Danish market but they could have been available by order option in the time of this hat.

The black sweatbands do seem to have been popular here. I'm sure you're right Steve about it being a colour coordination issue. The vintage Borsalinos, I have, are dark in colour and thus suit a dark sweatband.

 

[TheDane]

I love the fact, that the shop still exists. French Francois Petitgas opened the shop in 1857, and he made and sold hats to the CPH bourgeoisie - among them, H.C. Andersen. He even won a gold medal at the 1900 World Expo in Paris.

I believe, the current owner is number six, since Petitgas died in 1913. The window and interior have only changes slightly during this time. Unfortunately the quality of the inventory has changed a lot more. Even though he covers almost the entire Danish - and a lot of the Swedish and Norwegian - market, it's not substantial enough to support a high quality inventory. I believe, that most of his business comes from caps, ceremonial hats, straws and some modern smaller fedoras.

Though probably no Loungers will find the current fedora offerings interesting, I will warmly recommend a visit, if you're in CPH. It's a small, beautiful 100+ year old hole in reality - and Bernhard, the long bearded owner, is always ready for a hat talk

 

[Steve1857]

I love the fact, that the shop still exists. French Francois Petitgas opened the shop in 1857, and he sold hats to the CPH bourgeoisie - among them, H.C. Andersen. He even won a gold medal at the 1900 World Expo in Paris.

I believe, the current owner is number six, since Petitgas died in 1913 - and the window and interior have only changes slightly during this time. Unfortunately the quality of the inventory has changed a lot more. Even though he covers almost the entire Danish - and most of the Swedish and Norwegian - market, it's not substantial enough to support a high quality inventory. I believe, that most of his business comes from caps, ceremonial hats, straws and some modern smaller fedoras.

Though probably no Loungers will find the current offerings interesting, I will warmly recommend a visit, if you're in CPH. It's a small, beautiful 100+ year old hole in reality - and Bernhard, the long bearded owner, is always ready for a hat talk

View attachment 52537

I couldn't agree more Ole. Apart from the modern hats, inside, it's like going back in time to a hat emporium of the 19th century. The tall cases with their windowed doors, the wooden fixtures and fittings and the countless antique hat boxes are worth going inside for alone. It is great that the current owner took the shop over a few years back. It was in danger of closing down. That would have been such a shame and a great loss to the city centre of Copenhagen.

 

[Steve1857]

Petitgas opened the same year as Borsalino. My handle here on the Lounge, Steve1857, is in fact a homage to them both.

 

[TheDane]

- and Petitgas became a Borsalino retailer in 1872

Actually both the building and shop are listed, so the rent is probably ridiculously low in order to keep it going as original as possible. The shop is located in the very most expensive part of CPH, and it would be impossible to continue at market rent.

The fact, that it's so hard to dig out info on Danish mens' hat production, made me start a project a couple of months ago - heavily inspired by Brad's and Steve's (mayserwegener) work. I'm trying to gather info and documentation for a small web site on Danish hat production. Hope it'll be up this coming Winter.