What Hat Are You Wearing Today ?

VoodooSan said:

Sharp as a tack!!

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Blare said:

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Pre War Borsalino - Black
Approx 4 1/2 Crown as shaped (about 6 inch open)
1 7/8 brim with very tight curl
2 1/8 black grosgrain ribbon

Stefan @steur had posted this old Borsalino sometime back that was listed on eBay for a king’s ransom. Aside from its age.. the it was very notable for the unusual tight brim curl treatment. However at the price it was listed it didn’t look like it was going to be rescued by anyone on the lounge.. and kinda drifted off my radar. Luckily Stefan continued to keep an eye on it and when its asking price plummeted to within range, he kindly alerted me. Being it was still slightly out of my comfort zone I attempted to put it aside…. However after a fairly sleepless night.. I knew HAS had taken its hold and I put in an offer I was more comfortable with and was accepted. So it appears this interesting hat is rescued after all.

Dating wise… I will leave more specifics to Stefan and Daniele. Though I think I feel comfortable enough to say pre war. (If I’m wrong… my apologies and no worries). I’m generally thrilled to find per war hats of any make.. of European make maybe even more so for obvious reasons. Also amazing to see hats this old with most of their basting stitches still in tact. It does need a stitch or two to fully reattach the front half of the bow.. but for now a teeny bit of double sided tape is doing the trick.

OK. The million dollar question. What is the deal with the brim treatment?? As near as I can tell it is actually just a very tight brim roll the ends precisely where it touches back to the brim. I believe it is attached with some kind of hidden stitching as it does appear to be attached… you can’t just unfurl the curl. In playing with it to see if I felt anything inside the curl… I did not detect anything other than air however, I believe I did hear/feel a thread pop… kinda confirming my suspicions of stitching. I’ve not seen anything quite like it… almost makes the look of a comically large hand felted edge. Very unusual.

The tight brim curl leaves the brim fairly stingy at around 1 7/8… so I had to do some playing around with the bash to come up with something that didn’t look too stovepipe-ish proportionally. I arrived at this kinda wide diamond crease. I tend to think hats of this era.. often favor a deep center dent with wide side dents ala cowboy/bankers crease. This was no exception…. but I just felt it looked a bit tall on my head that way and I shifted to what you see.

A Big Thank you to Stefan for not abandoning hope on this old gem! And also for thinking of me. To diminish any regrets on not pulling the trigger himself… the 4 1/2 punti size that should equal size 7 US felt a bit more like a snug 6 7/8.. though it is loosening up a bit with wear.

All said.. combined with age and having never seen a brim treatment like this on any other hat… makes this one a fairly special addition to the collection.

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wsmontana said:

The brim kinda sounds like a mode-edge with a bit more volume? Very cool and great addition to your already impressive collection!

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hatophile said:

Stetson Suede finish- Miles City MT View attachment 693950

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The Lost Cowboy said:

Two hat day. I love this Mallory 10:

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But with my new-to-me Aero horsehide halfbelt, this Dobbs flatcap actually feels like a perfect pairing:

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Ent said:

And now for its twin complete with full autumn outfit. View attachment 694034
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VoodooSan said:

Lots of running about today, but before I set out, I'd had enough coffee to realize it was Whippet Wednesday!

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VoodooSan said:

Lots of running about today, but before I set out, I'd had enough coffee to realize it was Whippet Wednesday!

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Pellie said:

Mayser 175 year!
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Blare said:

Nice looking Mayser.

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RickP said:

Feels like a Three Forks Thursday

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carouselvic said:

Borsalino

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The Lost kansan said:

This one’s real cool looking! Is this the standard brim or is this one of your trimmed down brims?

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carouselvic said:

View attachment 694195 Borsalino

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