The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[Daniele Tanto]

Three hats coming in today (some just passing through). First one is nothing too special, but I can't resist hats with those cellophane covers in the liner. Borsalino nero, size 58 with the bound brim at 5,5cm an the crown 10,5 cm at the pinch.
Interestingly I found the "export quality" sticker under the sweats of two hats today.

The second one is not a spectacular model, but interesting nonetheless.
Borsalino Rodio, size 56 with the bound brim at 6cm and crown 11cm at the pinch. What makes this one different is the way the Borsalino brand name is represented on the liner and sweatband. Never seen this one before. I think this one is from the seventies.

Third one coming in today fell squarely into the category "hats that make you happy".
Borsalino Lunasca model in the colour Nembo (meaning "nimbus"), which is a fantastic blueish grey colour. Size 57 with the raw edge brim at 6,5cm and the crown 10cm at the pinch. Very lightweight, unlined, hat weighing in at only 85 grams. Sold by Sools of Paris.
Both the model and the colour name I've never seen before.

Stefan, I see and understand that you are also afflicted by an "insane" fascination for Borsalino products. They were my sins last week, despite the firm resolutions made about a year ago. Of the three represented, certainly the third, is the piece. The first is a classic, the second is a wink of Borsalino to a retailer, the third is old enough to be a European hat, almost be about seventy years, perhaps more. The Borsalino color and model count is always a puzzle, as well as understanding some production logic, however, both are three hats to put in collection

 

[steur]

Stefan, I see and understand that you are also afflicted by an "insane" fascination for Borsalino products. They were my sins last week, despite the firm resolutions made about a year ago. Of the three represented, certainly the third, is the piece. The first is a classic, the second is a wink of Borsalino to a retailer, the third is old enough to be a European hat, almost be about seventy years, perhaps more. The Borsalino color and model count is always a puzzle, as well as understanding some production logic, however, both are three hats to put in collection

Thanks, Daniele. I may have found a way of indulging my Borsalino fascination without running the risk of intervention. I try to collect as many as possible and only keep the best ones for myself.
The third one certainly is a keeper.

 

[Tukwila]

Third one coming in today fell squarely into the category "hats that make you happy".
Borsalino Lunasca model in the colour Nembo (meaning "nimbus"), which is a fantastic blueish grey colour. Size 57 with the raw edge brim at 6,5cm and the crown 10cm at the pinch. Very lightweight, unlined, hat weighing in at only 85 grams. Sold by Sools of Paris.
Both the model and the colour name I've never seen before.

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Elegant in it's simple, classic lines. Kind of like an Italian "Playboy." I need one in 60cm!

 

[steur]

Elegant in it's simple, classic lines. Kind of like an Italian "Playboy." I need one in 60cm!

Thanks, Doug. I think that's the main tribulation for a hat collector: "if only that one was my size..."

 

[carouselvic]

Felted edge Misto with back bow straight out of the box.










as with all Borsalino heathered felt colors that I have seen it starts with M.

 

[T Jones]

A fellow Lounger gifted me another Black Borsa for me to refurb and size up! This is a 7 1/8 that's soon going to be reblocked and sized up to a 7 1/4. I'm hoping I can reuse the the ribbon but that may or may not be possible with the size up. Anyway, I have a plan B for the ribbon, just in case. I have plenty enough brim to work with at 3 3/8 wide and the open crown on this puppy is 6 inches tall. Plenty to work with and it should make a nice refurb project. I'll have more in the conversion Corral...

 

[Redfokker]

Felted edge Misto with back bow straight out of the box.










as with all Borsalino heathered felt colors that I have seen it starts with M.

Absolutely pristine! Love the finish, and I'm a sucker for a back bow hat. Very impressive.

A fellow Lounger gifted me another Black Borsa for me to refurb and size up! This is a 7 1/8 that's soon going to be reblocked and sized up to a 7 1/4. I'm hoping I can reuse the the ribbon but that may or may not be possible with the size up. Anyway, I have a plan B for the ribbon, just in case. I have plenty enough brim to work with at 3 3/8 wide and the open crown on this puppy is 6 inches tall. Plenty to work with and it should make a nice refurb project. I'll have more in the conversion Corral...

Can't wait to see what you do with this one Terry. Black hats matter.

 

[T Jones]

Absolutely pristine! Love the finish, and I'm a sucker for a back bow hat. Very impressive.


Can't wait to see what you do with this one Terry. Black hats matter.

Thank you, Mike. This is how it looked on the head before I put it on the block this morning. I think this is going to turn out to be a nice refurb. Of all the modern off the shelf hats I think Borsalino is hard to beat for felt quality. Felting is a long lost art here in the U.S.. The dye quality is even superior in the Borsa's. When I was wetting it down to go on the block hardly any dye at all washed out. The more recent Stetsons and Resistols are a different story...

Check out the stitched brim edge treatment.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Felted edge Misto with back bow straight out of the box.

One of my favourite color (Gris fer=Iron grey)) in the Borsalino range of grays that in the "Misto" felts are a multitude

 

[steur]

Felted edge Misto with back bow straight out of the box.










as with all Borsalino heathered felt colors that I have seen it starts with M.

A beautiful hat, Vic. Great find. As far as I know the M. also stands for "misto", meaning "mix".

 

[steur]

Thank you, Mike. This is how it looked on the head before I put it on the block this morning. I think this is going to turn out to be a nice refurb. Of all the modern off the shelf hats I think Borsalino is hard to beat for felt quality. Felting is a long lost art here in the U.S.. The dye quality is even superior in the Borsa's. When I was wetting it down to go on the block hardly any dye at all washed out. The more recent Stetsons and Resistols are a different story...

Check out the stitched brim edge treatment.

That should turn out nice, Terry. Interesting name on the sweat though: "caldo grigio" means "warm grey". So maybe not a black hat?

 

[Steve1857]

This is the Lobbia Borsalino Qualità Suprema, 7cm brim, 11cm crown, that Daniele posted earlier in October. I'm happy to say it's now in my collection and on my head. Thank you, Daniele. Hope you're safe and well in all the bad weather hitting your area at the moment.

Sent from my HUAWEI VNS-L31 using Tapatalk

 

[T Jones]

That should turn out nice, Terry. Interesting name on the sweat though: "caldo grigio" means "warm grey". So maybe not a black hat?

Thank you, steur! I think this is going to turn out nice. Borsalinos are good to work with. Yeah, I don't understand why they put "warm gray" on the sweat. That hat is most definitely black.

 

[Air Wing Marine]

Can anyone tell me anything about this hat? These are the only pictures I have

 

[mayserwegener]

It's an American market Borsalino made prior to the original factory being closed which is a good thing. My guess is 1970s early 1980s. There should be a paper label behind the sweatband at the rear. If you can post a photo of it we might be able to tell you more. Also please post photos of the entire hat (front and side view).

 

[Roadopen]

Beautiful Borsa's in this thread fella's all around!

My no name Borsa Grand Prix 1900 in midnight BLACK.
I can never say enough for this hi-quality made in ITALY topper.
The felt material is bar none hi-end for a vintage hat.
Soft cottony and silky smooth, easy to bash stay-dry.

I am in the club now!

Cheers!
Ro

 

[steur]

Beautiful Borsa's in this thread fella's all around!

My no name Borsa Grand Prix 1900 in midnight BLACK.
I can never say enough for this hi-quality made in ITALY topper.
The felt material is bar none hi-end for a vintage hat.
Soft cottony and silky smooth, easy to bash stay-dry.

I am in the club now!

Cheers!
Ro

There's no going back now! Welcome to the brotherhood.

 

[Roadopen]

Thank you Stefan, that is what I am afraid of!

I've never had this kind of hat before as well as the Stetson's really. Now i know the feeling.
I am totally new to all of this and I'm digging it badly.......err i mean good!

Cheers!
Ro

 

[Air Wing Marine]

It's an American market Borsalino made prior to the original factory being closed which is a good thing. My guess is 1970s early 1980s. There should be a paper label behind the sweatband at the rear. If you can post a photo of it we might be able to tell you more. Also please post photos of the entire hat (front and side view).

It's an ebay purchase I have taken a risk on

 

[T Jones]

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place with this newest black Borsalino project of mine. I don't know how to decide on this. The brim on this one, after I took it apart and sized it up from a 7 1/8 to a 7 1/4, is still pretty wide at 3 1/4. Too wide for a fedora to suit me. I can easily fix that by trimming the brim to 2 3/4 and having myself another nice black Borsalino fedora with the proportions I like. On the other hand, if I do that, I lose the brim stitching around the edge. The other option, if I don't want to lose the stitched brim edge treatment is to make it a Western. Here's an idea of what it would look like if I choose to make this a western. This is only a quick dry creased and make shift cattleman and the brim is only 'dry shaped' as well until I decide what I want to do. Thoughts, anybody?