The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[deadlyhandsome]

 

[Blare]

Another one of them dang 1/8 hats.
But this’n nearly fits. However, I imagine it’ll just sell with the rest of em later.
Somehow it’s more aggravating to have a hat that nearly fits than those that aren’t close to fitting.
Right now I suppose these one size too small hats, I’ve posted lately, will sit in my collection.
This time it’s a sweet late 40s Bantam with the orange and red tags. 2 5/8” brim that has one row of stitching like the Playboy.
This Bantam, imo, is just a thinner, lighter Playboy. And man, is this one thin. Lightest felt fedora I’ve ever had. View attachment 475360 View attachment 475358 View attachment 475359 View attachment 475362
This hat may have belonged to LBJ’s brother…

That is a beauty

 

[Steve1857]

Another one of them dang 1/8 hats.
But this’n nearly fits. However, I imagine it’ll just sell with the rest of em later.
Somehow it’s more aggravating to have a hat that nearly fits than those that aren’t close to fitting.
Right now I suppose these one size too small hats, I’ve posted lately, will sit in my collection.
This time it’s a sweet late 40s Bantam with the orange and red tags. 2 5/8” brim that has one row of stitching like the Playboy.
This Bantam, imo, is just a thinner, lighter Playboy. And man, is this one thin. Lightest felt fedora I’ve ever had. View attachment 475360 View attachment 475358 View attachment 475359 View attachment 475362
This hat may have belonged to LBJ’s brother…

Wonderful colour and shape, Randall.

I think you've posted it in the wrong thread, though.

 

[Randall Renshaw]

Wonderful colour and shape, Randall.

I think you've posted it in the wrong thread, though.

Well darn, I sure did list it in the wrong thread.
Sorry!
I’ll cut and paste it where I meant to post? (New hat thread) But I suppose y’all would need to erase what you wrote in reply.
Then I’ll erase this one too.

Thanks, Guys.

 

[Steve1857]

Well darn, I sure did list it in the wrong thread.
Sorry!
I’ll cut and paste it where I meant to post? (New hat thread) But I suppose y’all would need to erase what you wrote in reply.
Then I’ll erase this one too.

Thanks, Guys.

No worries Randall. It's still a great looking hat in a thread for great looking hats

 

[BobHufford]

Then I’ll erase this one too.

It will live on in infamy. Worth posting in every thread IMHO.

 

[steur]

Another great one! Is the liner stitched in twice?

Nice proportions and a fantastic color!

Thanks, Guys. Yes, the liner is stitched twice. The dark thread must be a later one, because it's not as refined as the usual work on Borsalinos.

The lot was poorly described and the seller had very little desire to communicate: a gamble, but every now and then you have to try your luck.

This was inside a black hat, probably German, invisible in the mess of photos.
I wish I had better luck with the size, but I'm happy with it.

Borsalino Giuseppe e Fratelli size 55 cm or 4 french points.

The felt color is "Blueberry" and the model designation is "900"

The logo used on the lining is very old, but not the hat which is relatively recent, it could be from 1974, interpreting the Borsalino paper labels as fortune tellers.

Sold on the German-speaking market, you can see the wording on the sweatband, it has no store mark.
The felt is magnificent in terms of touch and thickness, as malleable as an old Borsalino, with high-class finishes

The ribbon and brim edge are the same color and match the color of the felt.
These are the measurements: the brims are 6 cm, the ribbon is 4 cm high. and the open crown is 13.5cm.

For everyone with a head that fits the size the hat is looking for a home.

Mirtillo is a colour that never gets old. Nice shape to it as well.

View attachment 474743 View attachment 474744 View attachment 474745 View attachment 474746 View attachment 474747

Some nice examples of modern production Borsalinos, Brent. Nothing wrong with these, except that we like the vintage ones better.

 

[steur]

For posterity or if someone wants to answer the call (it's still on auction). So not my hat. A Borsalino clerical hat. Just look at that liner.

 

[steur]

And another one for posterity. Not my size, so I didn't buy it, so again: not my hat.

Borsalino homburg in nutria. Looks to be an early one.

 

[PanosChris]

And another one for posterity. Not my size, so I didn't buy it, so again: not my hat.

Borsalino homburg in nutria. Looks to be an early one.

View attachment 475540 View attachment 475541 View attachment 475542 View attachment 475543 View attachment 475544 View attachment 475545 View attachment 475546 View attachment 475547 View attachment 475548 View attachment 475549

A great one, but the asking price makes no sense for the size ...

 

[steur]

A great one, but the asking price makes no sense for the size ...

No, and that's why it probably won't sell. Some sellers have unreasonable expectations though of the worth of what they have.

 

[PanosChris]

Another one thanks to Brent

Melasso in velour finish

Not the best pics but the felt has a fantastic hand. Thick and quite glossy velour. The brim is slightly longer than it looks, both the ribbon and crown are generously proportioned. Already spoken for

 

[PanosChris]

The box had a surprise in! That's not a stingy by any means or standards

 

[steur]

The box had a surprise in! That's not a stingy by any means or standards

View attachment 475662 View attachment 475663 View attachment 475664 View attachment 475665

Two beauties, Panos. We can be glad Brent has his watchful eye on the hat market, bless him.

 

[Bird Lives]

I am not collector of Furfelt fedoras. But I do have a Borsalino short brim blue trilby from the early 60's, an Akubra Fedora from 6 years ago, and a Lock & Co Sandown Trilby from about 8 years ago. So I have held and shaped reasonably quality furfelt before. All my hats have very nice leather sweatbands except a Borsalino Panama which has a grosgrain sweat. That hat arrived from Borsalino in my size but was WAY too small...but fit my wife, with sizing inserts under the sweatband. So she promptly requisitioned that one and looks fabulous in it.

This Christmas she gifted me a new Borsalino furfelt. She ordered it from a high end Dept store in Istanbul. The picture of the hat looked beautiful and all it said was Borsalino Mens Hat in Navy 100% Rabbit Fur Felt. Unlined, And it listed the sizes they had

When it arrived I was shocked to see it didn't have a leather sweat...But I had just been talking about getting a furfelt with a grosgrain sweat, because most of the year here on the Turkish Riviera, is pretty warm.

So when I look at the actual tag...I see ALL the warning signs to throw up a red flag... @Daniele Tanto you told me to not pay attention to tags, ha ha...But if I had seen the tags before I saw the hat...I would have missed out on this hat, I'm afraid....
Scary Tag:

Marengo...I heard that meant inferior, same for the number 49?

But what I found was a beautiful hat with the most malleable fur of any hat I own. Its very light, which I'm sure I'll appreciate when it gets hot ..but I can't believe how malleable the fur is. In these pictures I shaped it on my head, with no steam.

And here is the infamous grosgrain sweatband...
It feels great right now...Fits more like a 61...My wife ordered a 60...One sizing strip under sweatband in back and perfect fit.

My first impressions are Loving it....
I'll report back as I get to know this hat better.

Please let me know if you have any thoughts on it...

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I am not collector of Furfelt fedoras. But I do have a Borsalino short brim blue trilby from the early 60's, an Akubra Fedora from 6 years ago, and a Lock & Co Sandown Trilby from about 8 years ago. So I have held and shaped reasonably quality furfelt before. All my hats have very nice leather sweatbands except a Borsalino Panama which has a grosgrain sweat. That hat arrived from Borsalino in my size but was WAY too small...but fit my wife, with sizing inserts under the sweatband. So she promptly requisitioned that one and looks fabulous in it.

This Christmas she gifted me a new Borsalino furfelt. She ordered it from a high end Dept store in Istanbul. The picture of the hat looked beautiful and all it said was Borsalino Mens Hat in Navy 100% Rabbit Fur Felt. Unlined, And it listed the sizes they had

When it arrived I was shocked to see it didn't have a leather sweat...But I had just been talking about getting a furfelt with a grosgrain sweat, because most of the year here on the Turkish Riviera, is pretty warm.

So when I look at the actual tag...I see ALL the warning signs to throw up a red flag... @Daniele Tanto you told me to not pay attention to tags, ha ha...But if I had seen the tags before I saw the hat...I would have missed out on this hat, I'm afraid....
Scary Tag:
View attachment 476022
Marengo...I heard that meant inferior, same for the number 49?

But what I found was a beautiful hat with the most malleable fur of any hat I own. Its very light, which I'm sure I'll appreciate when it gets hot ..but I can't believe how malleable the fur is. In these pictures I shaped it on my head, with no steam. View attachment 476023 View attachment 476024
View attachment 476025 View attachment 476026 View attachment 476027
And here is the infamous grosgrain sweatband...
It feels great right now...Fits more like a 61...My wife ordered a 60...One sizing strip under sweatband in back and perfect fit.




View attachment 476028
My first impressions are Loving it....
I'll report back as I get to know this hat better.

Please let me know if you have any thoughts on it...

Nice looking hat, and you wear it well.

I’m no sort of Borsalino expert, but it’s been my consistent experience that Borsalinos, particularly newer hats, tend to run small, so your observations are different from mine.

I have a dozen or so of these similar Borsalinos with the gold branding on the bow keeper. I bought them recently as a third-party to a liquidation of a hat store’s inventory. All of mine have leather sweatbands, and I don’t know if the felt is the same as yours. My hats are reasonably soft (nice hand) and have minimal stiffeners; however, they require steam to get them to hold a shape that is significantly different from how they were made by the factory. The felt is almost limp and easily to shape, but I wouldn’t call mine malleable as they return to their machine pressed shapes unless steamed well. They are all nicely made modern hats with better felt than the current US made hats I’ve seen. I don’t care for the blocking on my hats as the crowns are too low and have way too much taper for me…which is nice as it bought them to sale and I’m not tempted to keep them.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Last month of the year and last purchases of opportunities that are difficult to find during the year

Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore late 1940s early 1950s, size 6 1/2 or 60 centimeters and 7 1/2 in the US.

Fit and finish are from that era, I've compared it to a couple of others and there are tons of similarities

The color of the felt is "Amiata", one of the most common of the grays sold by Borsalino, but in those years the dyer must have thought of "his" color and put this rather unusual combination of gray and violet on the felt, but we all know at Borsalino the colors often change or perhaps it is better to say they changed

The measurements of this Borsalino are as follows: the brims edged in the same color as the ribbon are 7 cm, the ribbon is 3 cm high with a particular bow and the crown when fully open is 14 cm.

Here and there you can see the signs of the time and of the notable use of the hat.

A peculiarity rarely found on a Borsalino, it is wide for me, although it is often the other way around

 

[steur]

Last month of the year and last purchases of opportunities that are difficult to find during the year

Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore late 1940s early 1950s, size 6 1/2 or 60 centimeters and 7 1/2 in the US.

Fit and finish are from that era, I've compared it to a couple of others and there are tons of similarities

The color of the felt is "Amiata", one of the most common of the grays sold by Borsalino, but in those years the dyer must have thought of "his" color and put this rather unusual combination of gray and violet on the felt, but we all know at Borsalino the colors often change or perhaps it is better to say they changed

The measurements of this Borsalino are as follows: the brims edged in the same color as the ribbon are 7 cm, the ribbon is 3 cm high with a particular bow and the crown when fully open is 14 cm.

Here and there you can see the signs of the time and of the notable use of the hat.

A peculiarity rarely found on a Borsalino, it is wide for me, although it is often the other way around

Beautiful Borsalino, Daniele. The bow style is unusual for Borsalino. Very nice.

 

[Blare]

Last month of the year and last purchases of opportunities that are difficult to find during the year

Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore late 1940s early 1950s, size 6 1/2 or 60 centimeters and 7 1/2 in the US.

Fit and finish are from that era, I've compared it to a couple of others and there are tons of similarities

The color of the felt is "Amiata", one of the most common of the grays sold by Borsalino, but in those years the dyer must have thought of "his" color and put this rather unusual combination of gray and violet on the felt, but we all know at Borsalino the colors often change or perhaps it is better to say they changed

The measurements of this Borsalino are as follows: the brims edged in the same color as the ribbon are 7 cm, the ribbon is 3 cm high with a particular bow and the crown when fully open is 14 cm.

Here and there you can see the signs of the time and of the notable use of the hat.

A peculiarity rarely found on a Borsalino, it is wide for me, although it is often the other way around

Beautiful hat Daniele. Wonderful color

Happy New Year

 

[steur]

Let's start off the new year with a nice one. It did come in last year, but I only could take pictures of it this morning. Here it is.

Borsalino fedora in black. Size 6 with the stitched brim at 5cm and the crown at 10cm at the center dent. Unlined and vented and weighing only 65 grams (with leather sweatband) it is an ancestor to the 50 grammi hats Borsalino has in its line-up today. The label gives it away as being made in 1978.