Cappellificio Cervo - Opinions?

[Vermifuge]

I was looking into this Italian hat maker and i like what i see. I was wondering if any of you have experience with there hats in the last few years?

The below felts and finishes were priced $100 - $180 plus shipping to the states. Looks like a great hat for a nice price. I would love to hear the opinions of the FL.

<img src="http://gallery.otakumedia.com/d/82952-1/Biver+fascia+alta.JPG">

<img src="http://gallery.otakumedia.com/d/82954-1/Classico+sfoderato.JPG">

<img src="http://gallery.otakumedia.com/d/82956-1/Classico+Talpa.JPG">

<img src="http://gallery.otakumedia.com/d/82958-1/Tup_.JPG">

 

[Art Fawcett]

At one point in history Cervo was right up there with Borsalino, in fact Borsalino used to have Cervo contract their felts when on "overload". It is now like the rest, corporate owned & operated, but considered a good hat for the money in today's market. Besdor?? What is the current quality like?

 

[Mr. Lucky]

You piqued my interest, so I did a bit of a search and found this article -
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,556,00.html

Now, the question for you: Where did you get the price quotes and where might you be purchasing from?

Thanks.

 

[Vermifuge]

At one point in history Cervo was right up there with Borsalino, in fact Borsalino used to have Cervo contract their felts when on "overload". It is now like the rest, corporate owned & operated, but considered a good hat for the money in today's market. Besdor?? What is the current quality like?

Thanks Art. It was this web page that caught my eye.

 

[Vermifuge]

You piqued my interest, so I did a bit of a search and found this article -
http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,556,00.html

Now, the question for you: Where did you get the price quotes and where might you be purchasing from?

Thanks.

HAHA! I just commented that it was THAT article that made me contact them. OOPS sorry. to answer your question i got the quote directly from them. i wrote them and asked and they asked common questions about what i was looking for and the over all quality of the hat.

Depending on the felt the hat will be between 100 and 200. keep in mind shipping from Italy will be hefty.

 

[moustache]

Second

I like the colour on the second hat.Beauty!!!

JD

 

[jamespowers]

They are not exactly vintage quality hats. The felt is stiff and the workmanship not up to standards. If I were looking for a hat in the upper ranges of their price, I would spend a little more and get a custom made. The cost isn't much more but the quality is ten times better.

Regards,

J

 

[Vermifuge]

They are not exactly vintage quality hats. The felt is stiff and the workmanship not up to standards. If I were looking for a hat in the upper ranges of their price, I would spend a little more and get a custom made. The cost isn't much more but the quality is ten times better.

Regards,

J

I like a stiff hat... and how do you set your "standards"? I have a new Optimo on order and this would esily be 1/2 the cost. 200% more is hardly a "little" in my book.

 

[besdor]

CERVO/BARBISIO

Cervo will always be in the shadows of Borsalino . The quality is not what it was ,but then what is as good today as was 50 years ago? I am expecting the salesman from Cervo in my store in about two weeks . I will report on what I see then.


Steven

 

[jamespowers]

I like a stiff hat... and how do you set your "standards"? I have a new Optimo on order and this would esily be 1/2 the cost. 200% more is hardly a "little" in my book.

The standard is that of the vintage hat. The felt should be pliable yet hold its shape through abuse. The sweatband should be made of the highest grade of leather possible and sewn in straight with even neat stitches.
The ribbon and bow should be neatly applied without visible stitching to hold them in place. The liner should be sewn in--not glued in. If the edge is bound it should be tight to the brim edge no matter if you snap the brim or not. Those are just some of my standards that need to be met. Others involve various resistance to wear issues.
I was not speaking of Optimo as a custom choice. I think you can do just as well going with Art and that is no where near that high a price. Throw in maybe $75 bucks and you would meet my standards and a high quality hat. Order the Optimo if you like but in my book it costs too much.

Regards,

J

 

[scotrace]

I think The Standard from now on for me will be Matt Deckard's cream colored Borsalino aboard the Queen Mary. I watched fascinated as he formed it into shape after shape, spinning it on a finger like a baskaetball. Almost a life of it's own. Such perfect felt that assumed whatever attitude he asked of it.

There is nothing like vintage felt.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

The standard is that of the vintage hat. The felt should be pliable yet hold its shape through abuse. The sweatband should be made of the highest grade of leather possible and sewn in straight with even neat stitches (etc.) ....

Beautifully said.


.

 

[jamespowers]

There is nothing like vintage felt.

:eusa_clap :eusa_clap Amen to that.

Regards,

J

 

[besdor]

If the standard is going to be vintage felt , then there are going to be a lot of unsatisfied customers . Unless a person is willing to settle for a vintage hat , there will never be a new hat that can compare with a vuntage one .
Me personaly , I love vintage hats .There is nothing like shaping a Borsalino hat from the 1930's . The quality is like butter and is smooth as silk . I just returned from Italy and had a chance to have a private viewing of the new Borsalino museum .I will be posting pictures very shortly as I left my camera in Italy and am waiting for it to be sent back to me . All I can say is that I was left in a room with hundres of vintage hats from 1890 to 1960 all in perfect shape .
What a trip it was !!


Steven

 

[jamespowers]

If the standard is going to be vintage felt , then there are going to be a lot of unsatisfied customers . Unless a person is willing to settle for a vintage hat , there will never be a new hat that can compare with a vuntage one .
Me personaly , I love vintage hats .There is nothing like shaping a Borsalino hat from the 1930's . The quality is like butter and is smooth as silk . I just returned from Italy and had a chance to have a private viewing of the new Borsalino museum .I will be posting pictures very shortly as I left my camera in Italy and am waiting for it to be sent back to me . All I can say is that I was left in a room with hundres of vintage hats from 1890 to 1960 all in perfect shape .
What a trip it was !!

Yep, mark me as one of the unsatisfied. I bought myself a Stetson Gaylord a while back just to see what they are producing now.:eusa_doh: Junk to say the least. The sweatband was made of some psuedo-suede stuff. Glued in liner of course and the stitching looked like it was done by a machine that needed adjustment. It literally tore up the binding when it went through it. The ribbon around the crown looked like it was stapled onto the crown by the way the stitches held the ribbon on. The block looked like a five year old had smacked it a few times with a wiffle ball bat and the felt had wrinkles in it!
Clearly they could do better than that. I didn't expect vintage felt but I did expect decent felt---not skunk felt. I would be willing to settle for close but this missed by a mile. At least our custom hatters get close in the felt. Their workmanship is on par with vintage though. I have seen some great customs with detail that was as good or better than vintage. Innovative designs, ribbon usage and high quality materials used throughout.
My only plea to off the rack hat factories is: "Can you get close at least?!" :eusa_doh: I might be able to live with cheaper materials if the workmanship was better. [huh]

Regards,

J

 

[Marc Chevalier]

This makes me wonder: if suits ever go out of style, will such off-the-rack suit factories as "Hart, Schaffner & Marx" end up producing absolute crap? Will there be a point when the only decent suits available will be from a very few diehard tailors?


.

 

[jamespowers]

This makes me wonder: if suits ever go out of style, will such off-the-rack suit factories as "Hart, Schaffner & Marx" end up producing absolute crap? Will there be a point when the only decent suits available will be from a very few diehard tailors?


.

Stop trying to give me a heart attack. Its bad enough with hats now.

Regards,

J

 

[art92101]

worth and worth for Cervos

I visited and purchased a Cervo from Worth and Worth in 1999 ( the author of the Cigar Afficionado article). they are nice enough hats. It was winter cold and needed a hat and I paid 200 for a crushable traveler in a great dark blue. Its a great hat but not as nice as any of my vintage hats. I'd suggest they are probably as nice as anything I have seen come out of a modern production house, probably equivalent or better than a Borso Allessandria but with a softer hand.

 

[John in Covina]

1997!

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Archives/CA_Show_Article/0,2322,556,00.html

*****
Keep in mind tha the article was published in 1997, and the actual trip and research earlier than the publish date. Can product and pricing remain the same as then?

 

[feltfan]

I think The Standard from now on for me will be Matt Deckard's cream colored Borsalino aboard the Queen Mary. I watched fascinated as he formed it into shape after shape, spinning it on a finger like a baskaetball. Almost a life of it's own. Such perfect felt that assumed whatever attitude he asked of it.

There is nothing like vintage felt.

Keep in mind that, from the sound of it, Matt's cream Borsalino
is an example of the *finest* vintage felt, not typical vintage felt.
I would guess that you could not do that with the majority of
my vintage felt hats (and you better not try it with even my
finest bowler!). But even the rabbit or other less-than-top-of-the-line
hats have character and quality you can't order from Stetson
(or probably Cervo) today.