Borsalino Bankrupt?

[deadlyhandsome]

Deadlyhandsome, thanks. What would you suggest for a newbie in vintage hat collecting what to look for in purchasing vintage fedoras? What hat companies has a superior product, which were on the lower end? Cheers.

This is a question that would take a small book to answer and it would take someone more knowledgeable than me to write it. Many of the old hat companies made great hats and they also made some not so great hats.

Look at the What Hat Are You Wearing Today thread and look for styles and shapes that you like. You can’t go wrong with a true vintage Borsalino, but there are lots of other great hats too. Mind telling me/us what size you are and what type of hat you’re after?

 

[Pkyoakum]

7 3/8, 59 cm, 23 inches. I recently have purchased three vintage Borsalino and one Champ fedoras (all 60s or earlier), but haven't received them yet.

 

[Pkyoakum]

belfastboy, I hear you. If I had a size 7 or smaller I could get a ton of vintage Borsas for under $100 each. So what gives, did blokes back in day have smaller heads?

 

[belfastboy]

belfastboy, I hear you. If I had a size 7 or smaller I could get a ton of vintage Borsas for under $100 each. So what gives, did blokes back in day have smaller heads?

Multiple perspectives on this....but the most likely explanation is that men's hat sizes like the rest of our bodies are larger today than a generation or two ago. 7 3/8" is still the most common hat size for men, 7 1/4" for women today.

 

[belfastboy]

7 3/8, 59 cm, 23 inches. I recently have purchased three vintage Borsalino and one Champ fedoras (all 60s or earlier), but haven't received them yet.

What is your preferred brim width, crown height? Stingy brimmed vintage still goes cheaply, there is a correlation in the 7 3/8 - 7 1/2 and up..the wider the brim the taller the crown the more expensive.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

7 3/8, 59 cm, 23 inches. I recently have purchased three vintage Borsalino and one Champ fedoras (all 60s or earlier), but haven't received them yet.

As a general rule, the felt and the build quality is better the older the hat. Of course, the older the hat the more likely it will have issues/damage. For me, the 1940s is the sweet spot: the quality is usually great and the hats have the larger proportions that I prefer. Earlier hats are great, but the brims were often shorter than my ideal. Finding these hats in your size will take patience, hours of searching, some luck, and a willingness to spend some a fair bit of money.

Are you looking for a typical dress fedora, western, western dress/fedora (e.g., Open Road), a city-come-country casual hat (e.g., Playboy), homburg, etc.? Do you care about brim edge treatment: raw, bound, underwelt, overwelt, or felted aka Cavanagh? Is there a crown height or shape you’re after? A particular brim width? I’m all over the pace. I like just about all of them, but I don’t think I need another stingy brim.

 

[belfastboy]

As a general rule, the felt and the build quality is better the older the hat. Of course, the older the hat the more likely it will have issues/damage. For me, the 1940s is the sweet spot: the quality is usually great and the hats have the larger proportions that I prefer. Earlier hats are great, but the brims were often shorter than my ideal. Finding these hats in your size will take patience, hours of searching, some luck, and a willingness to spend some a fair bit of money.

Are you looking for a typical dress fedora, western, western dress/fedora (e.g., Open Road), a city-come-country casual hat (e.g., Playboy), homburg, etc.? Do you care about brim edge treatment: raw, bound, underwelt, overwelt, or felted aka Cavanagh? Is there a crown height or shape you’re after? A particular brim width? I’m all over the pace. I like just about all of them, but I don’t think I need another stingy brim.

MiamiBruno on Ebay and here in the Lounge often has vintage Borsalinos in the 7 3/8 size at fair prices and full disclosure. I gave up on the hunt for vintage bargains and the ones I own I have bought from respected resellers, paid the premium but got the hat as advertised with no shitty surprises.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

MiamiBruno on Ebay and here in the Lounge often has vintage Borsalinos in the 7 3/8 size at fair prices and full disclosure. I gave up on the hunt for vintage bargains and the ones I own I have bought from respected resellers, paid the premium but got the hat as advertised with no shitty surprises.

I buy between 5 and 10 vintage hats a month. Maybe 20% are huge disappointments. The percentage used to be higher, but I gotten better at spotting the junk. I might keep one vintage hat a month and sell the others on. If you can clean a hat, steam in a decent shape, and take good photos you can usually at least break even after shipping and eBay fees. I do it as a hobby and just accept the occasional turd as part of the ups and downs. Now if I paid top dollar for a hat that was grossly misrepresented that’s another matter.

And then there are those vintage hats that you get to send to a favorite hatter to have them remade into something you really like. Just speaking hypothetically.

 

[belfastboy]

I buy between 5 and 10 vintage hats a month. Maybe 20% are huge disappointments. The percentage used to be higher, but I gotten better at spotting the junk. I might keep one vintage hat a month and sell the others on. If you can clean a hat, steam in a decent shape, and take good photos you can usually at least break even after shipping and eBay fees. I do it as a hobby and just accept the occasional turd as part of the ups and downs. Now if I paid top dollar for a hat that was grossly misrepresented that’s another matter.

And then there are those vintage hats that you get to send to a favorite hatter to have them remade into something you really like. Just speaking hypothetically.

I suffer from both impatience and poor judgement when it comes to hunting vintage........My judgement is not to be trusted!!! So I get my thrills doing the refurbs for others.....win/win!