Borsalino / Made In China ? Still Worth Big $$$$ ?

[Sonero]

New to the game but already have my favorite hat co. BORSALINO. They offer everything I would want (style wise) in a fine hat....including the price tag.

I thought to myself maybe I should just own 3 Borsalino hats and get rid of the rest of them. Make it simple and down to the point.

Then I read a review on amazon that they are now made in china.

I have never owned or touched a Borsalino but they look amazing in the photos.

Are they still worth the money these days ?

Any pics from your private collection are much appreciated

 

[belfastboy]

Other than dollar store items I would not touch a Chinese made product with a ten foot pole.

 

[jlee562]

The super condensed version of the Borsalino story is that they haven't been the same since they moved from the original factory in the 80's. Modern borsos are "nice," but the vintage ones are generally higher quality.

 

[mayserwegener]

And they are still made in Italy. At least as of January 2016 when I visited the factory with Daniele. Borsalino made really high quality hats up to early 1980s when the family sold the business and the old factory was closed (replaced by a new smaller scale factory outside of Alessandria).

 

[Sonero]

And they are still made in Italy. At least as of January 2016 when I visited the factory with Daniele. Borsalino made really high quality hats up to early 1980s when the family sold the business and the old factory was closed (replaced by a new smaller scale factory outside of Alessandria).

Maybe some models but not all....according to Amazon reviews ? Perhaps there are fakes being sold over the internet ?

 

[mayserwegener]

Maybe some models but not all....according to Amazon reviews ? Perhaps there are fakes being sold over the internet ?

I have no idea about fakes or brand licencing. I do know that the hats that Borsalino features in their catalogs are made in Italy. I also know that they are sourcing some felt from FEPSA but that is not a bad thing.

Also there were reports on here in the past alluding to suspect labor practices by Borsalino. I didn't encounter and such practices when I visited the factory back in January. In fact it was the complete opposite. They were totally open and let me take photos of anything I wanted.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Do you have the link to the review handy? Out of curiosity, I just went through the three pages of hats by Borsalino on Amazon, and didn't see a review that mentioned China. Just wondering what people are saying.

Brad
~The Hatted Professor

 

[Sonero]

Do you have the link to the review handy? Out of curiosity, I just went through the three pages of hats by Borsalino on Amazon, and didn't see a review that mentioned China. Just wondering what people are saying.

Brad
~The Hatted Professor

Will try to get that for you later today. Heading to the beach right now...going Boogie Boarding.

 

[tropicalbob]

I'm not quite clear on your opening comments: Borsalino is your favorite hat company, but you've never actually worn one? If you're just getting into this, you might want to keep an open mind and explore the works of the artisans who appear in this forum. My first "decent" hat was a Borsalino, but for various reasons I haven't worn it for quite some time.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

There are many "Borsalino" or so called in the market. Here in Europe many sellers sold "Borsalino" ( ugly Hat) to evoke an high end product. Some of these fakes are made in China? Maybe, but they are not Bots Ali no. Please do not take seriously every stupidity on the web

Inviato dal mio m2 utilizzando Tapatalk

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Borsalino is the right word on the last period

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[Sonero]

I'm not quite clear on your opening comments: Borsalino is your favorite hat company, but you've never actually worn one?

Never worn one or touched one but the LOOK going by online websites is definitely to my liking.

 

[tropicalbob]

Save yourself some money and, if you can, go to a brick-and-mortar shop and try some on. I made the mistake of ordering a Bellagio, which doesn't suit me at all because the crown is slightly tapered, making me look like I'm wearing a dunce cap. A great deal depends on the shape of your face and head. The only Borsalino I could wear would be the Alessandria, which I like a lot, but for that kind of cash I could do much better with a custom hat.

 

[Sonero]

I looked for the review on amazon that said made in china but couldn't find it. It very well could have been a fake or maybe they make some models in china ? Amazon is known to be flooded with fake merchandise. Maybe this guy was one of the unlucky ones.

Otherwise I do see Made In Italy in the description panel.

So with the current state of the company is it worth the money or not ?

I definitely think trying a hat on (if possible) is the best idea if you have access to a store that sells them.

By the way how does the sizing run compared to someone like Stetson ? Do european sizes fit differently than american sizes ?

 

[Tonio]

Solid advice from all above. My opinion would be that if you absolutely must own a modern Borsalino, I'd put the money towards their beaver felt hat. I have one and really like the profile, felt, and snap of the brim. Comes in a nice box too.

I find the sweatband stitching to be bothersome on my other modern Borsalino hats.

 

[Frunobulax]

Our own moontheloon purchased a couple of Borsas and reviewed them some time back. He was very happy with the hats, but did say there was some difference in the feel of the felts he looked at and tried on. So ordering over the 'net may be a bit dicier.

Not certain where you are, but do try to take the advice and find a hat shop. If you haven't handled many felt hats, this will give you the opportunity to feel different felts and see what you might look best in. Then you can start prowling the antique stores and vintage sources like the rest of us.

 

[RJR]

Our own moontheloon purchased a couple of Borsas and reviewed them some time back. He was very happy with the hats, but did say there was some difference in the feel of the felts he looked at and tried on. So ordering over the 'net may be a bit dicier.

Not certain where you are, but do try to take the advice and find a hat shop. If you haven't handled many felt hats, this will give you the opportunity to feel different felts and see what you might look best in. Then you can start prowling the antique stores and vintage sources like the rest of us.

+1,good advice.

 

[Sonero]

I am in San Diego. Any idea where to go ? I guess LA would make the most sense but I would like to avoid LA traffic.

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Borsalinos made in China ? sounds like Herbert Johnsons made in Japan. http://www.ebay.com/itm/Authentic-R...76d9c14&pid=100033&rk=8&rkt=8&sd=322219819314

 

[the hat guy]

It's a big risk buying Borsalinos online, even vintage. In saying that, I recently purchased a vintage borsalino but it needed a lot of work to restore as it was moulded so badly, it stunk out my entire home when I received it. It was also advertised with the wrong size so I gave it to my brother in law once restored and it's his favourite of his 3 Borsalinos.

Why risky? I have ended up with three bootleg fake replica grey market borsalinos over the years. The first one is a proper vintage replica. Ebay, Australian seller. It looks like a hat borsalino used to make, with the same tassels and is good quality. The labelling inside says Bosalin imitating the font and line that goes under. See picture. I wrote to the seller who replied "Hi, I'm very sorry with the sizing mix up and the branding. I purchased the hat from a deceased estate, I was told by the children that it was a hat that had been in the family from when their mother was a child, they were not sure who originally owned it."

The second fake I own I bought new and was sent from a seller in the USA. Its a good quality hat, the leather band isn't great quality but the logo looks convincing enough. It's lining is fairly convincing. The size indicator was the initial give away. See pics. It had a metal badge with the logo on the outside that was poor quality and fell off so I can't show you. I have since seen this exact hat sold in several colours as dobbs and stetson with different logo badges from another US seller. I wouldn't say these are Chinese, maybe, seem like better quality fakes to me, maybe Mexican or European.

I recently thought I'd risk buying from luxury brand boutique websites. I say risk because while these seem to have brick and mortar stores and guarantee authenticity, reviews are mixed and usually horrible. Some user reviews didn't seem to be complaining about fakes but about the expensive and problematic return procedure when these companies send you the wrong colour or size despite them boasting good return policies. Some customers swear their "gucci bags" are real comparing the tags to others they bought at a gucci store. (Bags and gucci as example). How naive. So I ordered from one of these sites, the price was just too good to pass up. Then I ordered another of the same hat from another site. Both arrived swiftly from Italy and were packaged so well in the branding of the luxury boutiques. Both were the same Chinese garbage, worth $5 at best. The quality is a joke.
The tags are convincing though and the band around the hat. My friend said he can tell right away with the band though. It says inside 100% straw. They are plastic/nylon I promise you that. So that's not convincing, but holding it side by side with an authentic hat, the tags seem legit. I'm trying now to get money back from these sites but so far it's been a lengthy process. They've promised me on the phone the items are authentic and in wordy emails. The one has now offered a partial refund of $15 and I keep the hat but I've refused that offer. I'll post pics of a genuine borsalino panama and the Chinese fake. The pics on the websites are of real hats, not the ones they sell.