Recent content by jeffgarf

So, I just got word that one of my go to hat stores, Hats and Hats of North Miami Beach (original sellers of the Porto Fino brand Columbian hats) are opening at least 2 locations in Atlanta, GA. The owner, in our email correspondence, mentioned relocating, but I'm not sure of the status of the...

Very nice work!

Right there with you +1

So, I heard from Steve at Bencraft, a former member here, that he says the hat was a Bollman-made Borsalino from the '90's. Based on the fact that the hat does not actually say "Made in Italy" on any of it's markings, I think he is correct. I still do not have any clarification on the...

Picked up this Bond Clothing fedora for a song a few days ago and I can't seem to keep it off my head. My wife even had to comment that this was turning into an "everyday" one. A nice gentleman, half a generation older than me, complimented me when he saw me wearing it and said it brought back...

I have a great liner guy on Etsy, is you like funky liners. He's great.

Akubra hats are fun to learn with. Check to see that this hat ever had a liner, as many of them do not, being rugged, outdoorsy types instead of dress hats. I have even lined and reshaped some of their outdoor hats into more dressy ones, as the felt is easy to work with once you get a feel for it.

Posted about this on the Borsalino Brotherhood thread because of the questions I had, but I think, regardless of the answers, this counts as a victory. Less than $100 on Poshmark, a Borsalino "Conti" (I don't know either), marked as Imperiale on the sweatband, usually an indicator of beaver fur.

So, I am sure this is not "vintage", but I recently picked up this Borsalino from a very willing seller, shown as a "Conti". I know every original seller can rename the hats they sell from Borsalino, as they wish, but I do not see any mention of a "Conti" anywhere on the web. The sweatband...

Do they say "Made in Europe" though?

Has anyone ever come across a hat with this label? I have seen it in two separate hats (with different, seemingly fabricated, manufacturers), both claiming to be Italian. One brand, that I will not name here, even has an origin story that includes a 5th generation, Italian hat making family...

Spray paint and then acrylic. I have changed a hat from gray to black using this method and it does work, if you are careful. -

I am reviving this LOOONG dormant thread to discuss these hats and this brand (not the Satya Twena factory purchase, but the actual hats) here in 2025. For $10 + shipping I got a lot of 5 hats from shopgoodwill.com. Included were a Dobbs and a Cosmopolitan (a vintage NY brand that seems to get...

Welcome and I'm sorry :)

Thanks @steur! I'm sure you could tell I was hoping you'd check in on this. It is, in fact, black (as shown in the photo). I also can't image that $2.50 was an actual retail price considering even the US-made hats from this era went for $7.50-$10. I lived in Chicago in the 90's and would have...