The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

[Daniele Tanto]

Joe it is a little masterpiece. Bellissimo!

 

[Blare]

Joe it is a little masterpiece. Bellissimo!

Thank you Daniele!!

 

[BernardDogs]

Hello friends. I'm gonna introduce myself with some enthusiasm so buckle up. I was so thankful to find this gathering of resources as I was looking for info on a new find.

I've been a hat collector of a very long time. Although I go mostly for a stingy fedora, I'll grab anything I like. And I much prefer vintage. The thrill of the find is a huge part of it for me, but I'll still go into a hat shop as I travel the world and buy a new souvenir.

Of late, I've been itching to find a more western styled fedora but not wanting to just grab a Stetson Open Road. I love the look, but I don't think it's the best style for me. And I very much appreciate the iconic look Jeff Tweedy puts out there as he performs in his. Finally, I don't have any lighter colored fedoras, so the search has been on for some time for a find that satisfies those parameters.

A vintage store near me posted to Instagram that they had scored a huge haul of vintage western styled hats. So my wife and I went down on Sunday to look through the collection. The haul was purchased from Austin Hearst (William's grandson) and mostly gathered from Hollywood costumers who had turned old vintage western hats into props for various projects. He lived for a while in my state and had become friendly with this shop. He was moving again and didn't want to move his collection of hats. They easily had 30 hats and I was pulling out vintage stetsons at every grab, but was not finding too many to fit me (I'm a 7 5/8). As I finished looking through their premier stuff, the shop owner informed me that they still had another box of stuff that was not as old. I grabbed three that I could work with ... the final one being a Borsalino with a 7 5/8 tag.

It was in really rough shape, and I failed to take any before pics ... but it cleaned up very nicely with a steam treatment, an iron for the brim, and a lot of patient brushing. I had originally pegged it to be from the 40s, but have since learned from the fabulous data here that it's early 70s (based on the paper tag).

I like to get very expressive with my hats, so the purist may not appreciate the crease I've created. I went for a very aggressive twirled pinch with a downward slope from the back. While the purists are welcomed to chime in with any opinion on the choice, know that I'm confident in my decision. I'll post a few pics of it so you can see how it turned out ... I haven't seen a lot in the Avorio (Ivory) color within the pics here.

 

[AbbaDatDeHat]

Hello friends. I'm gonna introduce myself with some enthusiasm so buckle up. I was so thankful to find this gathering of resources as I was looking for info on a new find.

I've been a hat collector of a very long time. Although I go mostly for a stingy fedora, I'll grab anything I like. And I much prefer vintage. The thrill of the find is a huge part of it for me, but I'll still go into a hat shop as I travel the world and buy a new souvenir.

Of late, I've been itching to find a more western styled fedora but not wanting to just grab a Stetson Open Road. I love the look, but I don't think it's the best style for me. And I very much appreciate the iconic look Jeff Tweedy puts out there as he performs in his. Finally, I don't have any lighter colored fedoras, so the search has been on for some time for a find that satisfies those parameters.

A vintage store near me posted to Instagram that they had scored a huge haul of vintage western styled hats. So my wife and I went down on Sunday to look through the collection. The haul was purchased from Austin Hearst (William's grandson) and mostly gathered from Hollywood costumers who had turned old vintage western hats into props for various projects. He lived for a while in my state and had become friendly with this shop. He was moving again and didn't want to move his collection of hats. They easily had 30 hats and I was pulling out vintage stetsons at every grab, but was not finding too many to fit me (I'm a 7 5/8). As I finished looking through their premier stuff, the shop owner informed me that they still had another box of stuff that was not as old. I grabbed three that I could work with ... the final one being a Borsalino with a 7 5/8 tag.

It was in really rough shape, and I failed to take any before pics ... but it cleaned up very nicely with a steam treatment, an iron for the brim, and a lot of patient brushing. I had originally pegged it to be from the 40s, but have since learned from the fabulous data here that it's early 70s (based on the paper tag).

I like to get very expressive with my hats, so the purist may not appreciate the crease I've created. I went for a very aggressive twirled pinch with a downward slope from the back. While the purists are welcomed to chime in with any opinion on the choice, know that I'm confident in my decision. I'll post a few pics of it so you can see how it turned out ... I haven't seen a lot in the Avorio (Ivory) color within the pics here.

View attachment 256283 View attachment 256284 View attachment 256285 View attachment 256286 View attachment 256287 View attachment 256288

It’s a great hat and a great personalized crease and you look like Andy Garcia.
Welcome to the lounge and thank you.
B

 

[BernardDogs]

Ha! That’s a first. Without a hat I get Stanley Tucci every now and then. I need the weather to cool off and into our New England fall so I can wear this properly. It’s my first Borsalino, though I’ve coveted them for a long time.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Hello friends. I'm gonna introduce myself with some enthusiasm so buckle up. I was so thankful to find this gathering of resources as I was looking for info on a new find.

I've been a hat collector of a very long time. Although I go mostly for a stingy fedora, I'll grab anything I like. And I much prefer vintage. The thrill of the find is a huge part of it for me, but I'll still go into a hat shop as I travel the world and buy a new souvenir.

Of late, I've been itching to find a more western styled fedora but not wanting to just grab a Stetson Open Road. I love the look, but I don't think it's the best style for me. And I very much appreciate the iconic look Jeff Tweedy puts out there as he performs in his. Finally, I don't have any lighter colored fedoras, so the search has been on for some time for a find that satisfies those parameters.

A vintage store near me posted to Instagram that they had scored a huge haul of vintage western styled hats. So my wife and I went down on Sunday to look through the collection. The haul was purchased from Austin Hearst (William's grandson) and mostly gathered from Hollywood costumers who had turned old vintage western hats into props for various projects. He lived for a while in my state and had become friendly with this shop. He was moving again and didn't want to move his collection of hats. They easily had 30 hats and I was pulling out vintage stetsons at every grab, but was not finding too many to fit me (I'm a 7 5/8). As I finished looking through their premier stuff, the shop owner informed me that they still had another box of stuff that was not as old. I grabbed three that I could work with ... the final one being a Borsalino with a 7 5/8 tag.

It was in really rough shape, and I failed to take any before pics ... but it cleaned up very nicely with a steam treatment, an iron for the brim, and a lot of patient brushing. I had originally pegged it to be from the 40s, but have since learned from the fabulous data here that it's early 70s (based on the paper tag).

I like to get very expressive with my hats, so the purist may not appreciate the crease I've created. I went for a very aggressive twirled pinch with a downward slope from the back. While the purists are welcomed to chime in with any opinion on the choice, know that I'm confident in my decision. I'll post a few pics of it so you can see how it turned out ... I haven't seen a lot in the Avorio (Ivory) color within the pics here.

View attachment 256283 View attachment 256284 View attachment 256285 View attachment 256286 View attachment 256287 View attachment 256288

Definitely a great hat, and I like how you shaped it. Sometimes we can get a bit OCD when it comes to symmetry with our creases but yours looks organic and you wear it well.

 

[BernardDogs]

Definitely a great hat, and I like how you shaped it. Sometimes we can get a bit OCD when it comes to symmetry with our creases but yours looks organic and you wear it well.

Thanks! The bin was full of hats that had been shaped into all sorts of contortions you would see in old westerns so I sort of wanted to pay homage to that portion of this hat’s journey. And I’m a bit of a contrarian anyway so it worked out well. I was amazed at how well it took to re-blocking after however long it had been crushed at the bottom of the box.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

Thanks! The bin was full of hats that had been shaped into all sorts of contortions you would see in old westerns so I sort of wanted to pay homage to that portion of this hat’s journey. And I’m a bit of a contrarian anyway so it worked out well. I was amazed at how well it took to re-blocking after however long it had been crushed at the bottom of the box.

I like how the hats history was maintained and it looks ready for another chapter. I’m also a 7 5/8 (or 7 3/4) so I know how hard it is to find vintage hats in that size.

 

[Just Daniel]

Great story! Thanks for sharing.

Hello friends. I'm gonna introduce myself with some enthusiasm so buckle up. I was so thankful to find this gathering of resources as I was looking for info on a new find.

I've been a hat collector of a very long time. Although I go mostly for a stingy fedora, I'll grab anything I like. And I much prefer vintage. The thrill of the find is a huge part of it for me, but I'll still go into a hat shop as I travel the world and buy a new souvenir.

Of late, I've been itching to find a more western styled fedora but not wanting to just grab a Stetson Open Road. I love the look, but I don't think it's the best style for me. And I very much appreciate the iconic look Jeff Tweedy puts out there as he performs in his. Finally, I don't have any lighter colored fedoras, so the search has been on for some time for a find that satisfies those parameters.

A vintage store near me posted to Instagram that they had scored a huge haul of vintage western styled hats. So my wife and I went down on Sunday to look through the collection. The haul was purchased from Austin Hearst (William's grandson) and mostly gathered from Hollywood costumers who had turned old vintage western hats into props for various projects. He lived for a while in my state and had become friendly with this shop. He was moving again and didn't want to move his collection of hats. They easily had 30 hats and I was pulling out vintage stetsons at every grab, but was not finding too many to fit me (I'm a 7 5/8). As I finished looking through their premier stuff, the shop owner informed me that they still had another box of stuff that was not as old. I grabbed three that I could work with ... the final one being a Borsalino with a 7 5/8 tag.

It was in really rough shape, and I failed to take any before pics ... but it cleaned up very nicely with a steam treatment, an iron for the brim, and a lot of patient brushing. I had originally pegged it to be from the 40s, but have since learned from the fabulous data here that it's early 70s (based on the paper tag).

I like to get very expressive with my hats, so the purist may not appreciate the crease I've created. I went for a very aggressive twirled pinch with a downward slope from the back. While the purists are welcomed to chime in with any opinion on the choice, know that I'm confident in my decision. I'll post a few pics of it so you can see how it turned out ... I haven't seen a lot in the Avorio (Ivory) color within the pics here.

View attachment 256283 View attachment 256284 View attachment 256285 View attachment 256286 View attachment 256287 View attachment 256288

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Lobbia Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore. Size is 5 57 cm. for Europe and 7 for the USA

For many details in the finishes and from the celled label it may be made in the late thirties

The paper label is soiled and with some difficult you can read Lupo (color) c. Nera (black ribbon and Goluela or Gulaela.

The interior is clean and in very good conditions despite the age

The color of the medium weight felt is Lupo one of the many greys used by Borsalino, the ribbon is black and the curled brim has the same color of the felt.

The measurements are as follow: the brim are 6 cm. the shaped crowm is 11 cm., the ribbon is 4 cm.

These are the details make me thinking about its age. The large sweatband 5 cm. the stamps and the trade mark with the yellow oilskin.

A classic in its time for your pleasure.
It is not my size

 

[BernardDogs]

View attachment 256358
A classic in its time for your pleasure.
It is not my size

It looks to be in amazing condition. Love that curled brim.

 

[alanfgag]

View attachment 256349
Lobbia Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore. Size is 5 57 cm. for Europe and 7 for the USA
View attachment 256350
For many details in the finishes and from the celled label it may be made in the late thirties
View attachment 256351
The paper label is soiled and with some difficult you can read Lupo (color) c. Nera (black ribbon and Goluela or Gulaela.
View attachment 256352
The interior is clean and in very good conditions despite the age
View attachment 256353
The color of the medium weight felt is Lupo one of the many greys used by Borsalino, the ribbon is black and the curled brim has the same color of the felt.
View attachment 256354
The measurements are as follow: the brim are 6 cm. the shaped crowm is 11 cm., the ribbon is 4 cm.
View attachment 256355 View attachment 256356 View attachment 256357
These are the details make me thinking about its age. The large sweatband 5 cm. the stamps and the trade mark with the yellow oilskin.
View attachment 256358
A classic in its time for your pleasure.
It is not my size

Very nice Daniele, but the label appears to be the mid 1950s version?

 

[tonylumpkin]

Repairable?

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Very nice Daniele, but the label appears to be the mid 1950s version?

Ciao Alan as for others Borsalino made for the Italian market there are components that belongs to different decade assembled in one hat. Borsalino's creed was: don't throw anything away. This hat seems to be the paradigm of this company philosophy and, as I said many times, I am not convinced to read the age of the Borsalinos on the paper labels.

 

[Blare]

Hello friends. I'm gonna introduce myself with some enthusiasm so buckle up. I was so thankful to find this gathering of resources as I was looking for info on a new find.

I've been a hat collector of a very long time. Although I go mostly for a stingy fedora, I'll grab anything I like. And I much prefer vintage. The thrill of the find is a huge part of it for me, but I'll still go into a hat shop as I travel the world and buy a new souvenir.

Of late, I've been itching to find a more western styled fedora but not wanting to just grab a Stetson Open Road. I love the look, but I don't think it's the best style for me. And I very much appreciate the iconic look Jeff Tweedy puts out there as he performs in his. Finally, I don't have any lighter colored fedoras, so the search has been on for some time for a find that satisfies those parameters.

A vintage store near me posted to Instagram that they had scored a huge haul of vintage western styled hats. So my wife and I went down on Sunday to look through the collection. The haul was purchased from Austin Hearst (William's grandson) and mostly gathered from Hollywood costumers who had turned old vintage western hats into props for various projects. He lived for a while in my state and had become friendly with this shop. He was moving again and didn't want to move his collection of hats. They easily had 30 hats and I was pulling out vintage stetsons at every grab, but was not finding too many to fit me (I'm a 7 5/8). As I finished looking through their premier stuff, the shop owner informed me that they still had another box of stuff that was not as old. I grabbed three that I could work with ... the final one being a Borsalino with a 7 5/8 tag.

It was in really rough shape, and I failed to take any before pics ... but it cleaned up very nicely with a steam treatment, an iron for the brim, and a lot of patient brushing. I had originally pegged it to be from the 40s, but have since learned from the fabulous data here that it's early 70s (based on the paper tag).

I like to get very expressive with my hats, so the purist may not appreciate the crease I've created. I went for a very aggressive twirled pinch with a downward slope from the back. While the purists are welcomed to chime in with any opinion on the choice, know that I'm confident in my decision. I'll post a few pics of it so you can see how it turned out ... I haven't seen a lot in the Avorio (Ivory) color within the pics here.

View attachment 256283 View attachment 256284 View attachment 256285 View attachment 256286 View attachment 256287 View attachment 256288

Wonderful find. Glad you were able to make it your own. Welcome to the lounge.

 

[steur]

Hello friends. I'm gonna introduce myself with some enthusiasm so buckle up. I was so thankful to find this gathering of resources as I was looking for info on a new find.

I've been a hat collector of a very long time. Although I go mostly for a stingy fedora, I'll grab anything I like. And I much prefer vintage. The thrill of the find is a huge part of it for me, but I'll still go into a hat shop as I travel the world and buy a new souvenir.

Of late, I've been itching to find a more western styled fedora but not wanting to just grab a Stetson Open Road. I love the look, but I don't think it's the best style for me. And I very much appreciate the iconic look Jeff Tweedy puts out there as he performs in his. Finally, I don't have any lighter colored fedoras, so the search has been on for some time for a find that satisfies those parameters.

A vintage store near me posted to Instagram that they had scored a huge haul of vintage western styled hats. So my wife and I went down on Sunday to look through the collection. The haul was purchased from Austin Hearst (William's grandson) and mostly gathered from Hollywood costumers who had turned old vintage western hats into props for various projects. He lived for a while in my state and had become friendly with this shop. He was moving again and didn't want to move his collection of hats. They easily had 30 hats and I was pulling out vintage stetsons at every grab, but was not finding too many to fit me (I'm a 7 5/8). As I finished looking through their premier stuff, the shop owner informed me that they still had another box of stuff that was not as old. I grabbed three that I could work with ... the final one being a Borsalino with a 7 5/8 tag.

It was in really rough shape, and I failed to take any before pics ... but it cleaned up very nicely with a steam treatment, an iron for the brim, and a lot of patient brushing. I had originally pegged it to be from the 40s, but have since learned from the fabulous data here that it's early 70s (based on the paper tag).

I like to get very expressive with my hats, so the purist may not appreciate the crease I've created. I went for a very aggressive twirled pinch with a downward slope from the back. While the purists are welcomed to chime in with any opinion on the choice, know that I'm confident in my decision. I'll post a few pics of it so you can see how it turned out ... I haven't seen a lot in the Avorio (Ivory) color within the pics here.

View attachment 256283 View attachment 256284 View attachment 256285 View attachment 256286 View attachment 256287 View attachment 256288

Lovely hat and nice find. You are right that the Avorio colour isn't very common.

 

[steur]

View attachment 256349
Lobbia Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore. Size is 5 57 cm. for Europe and 7 for the USA
View attachment 256350
For many details in the finishes and from the celled label it may be made in the late thirties
View attachment 256351
The paper label is soiled and with some difficult you can read Lupo (color) c. Nera (black ribbon and Goluela or Gulaela.
View attachment 256352
The interior is clean and in very good conditions despite the age
View attachment 256353
The color of the medium weight felt is Lupo one of the many greys used by Borsalino, the ribbon is black and the curled brim has the same color of the felt.
View attachment 256354
The measurements are as follow: the brim are 6 cm. the shaped crowm is 11 cm., the ribbon is 4 cm.
View attachment 256355 View attachment 256356 View attachment 256357
These are the details make me thinking about its age. The large sweatband 5 cm. the stamps and the trade mark with the yellow oilskin.
View attachment 256358
A classic in its time for your pleasure.
It is not my size

Dibs! That is an absolute stunner, Daniele! I think the Gulaela is Borsalino's best homburg model and the Lupo colour is a great versatile (and quite rare) colour. I'd love to add this one to the flock.

 

[deadlyhandsome]

I’m no kind of expert, but this is a new one to me. It’s marked “Impermeabile” I can’t read anything under the clouded, but intact, oilskin liner cover. No label under the sweatband, and it has paper liner tabs that I associate with hats that have been professionally cleaned and/or reblocked. The open crown is just over 5 inches and the brim edge a 2 1/2 inches. Unfortunately, the inside circumference is not 23 3/4 inches as the seller stated. The felt is substantial and different from any of my other Borsalinos.

I suppose if this is their waterproof Impermeable hat it makes sense that the felt isn’t light and thin. The earth tones and the raw edge brim all give it knockabout outdoorsy feel. Pity it’s not the size it was sold to me as.

 

[Daniele Tanto]

Latest late summer purchase, for now.

A beautiful Borsalino that comes from central Italy.

Borsalino Qualità Extra Superiore. Size is 5 1/2 or 58cm or 7 1/8 US

The hat is in excellent condition with felt and matching trimmings with an ensured elegance effect.

The color of the felt is "Biber" and the type is Faunosca 38 1/2. It is a light and very malleable felt

I think it was produced in the 1950s or early 1960s.
The measurements are as follows: the finished brims with seam and trim in the same color as the ribbon are 7 cm. The shaped crown is 11 cm. and the ribbon that matches the same color of the felt is 3 centimeters.

It is another of the hats that I regret for the size that is not mine

 

[steur]

I’m no kind of expert, but this is a new one to me. It’s marked “Impermeabile” I can’t read anything under the clouded, but intact, oilskin liner cover. No label under the sweatband, and it has paper liner tabs that I associate with hats that have been professionally cleaned and/or reblocked. The open crown is just over 5 inches and the brim edge a 2 1/2 inches. Unfortunately, the inside circumference is not 23 3/4 inches as the seller stated. The felt is substantial and different from any of my other Borsalinos.


View attachment 256840 View attachment 256841 View attachment 256842 View attachment 256843 View attachment 256844 View attachment 256845 View attachment 256846 View attachment 256847 View attachment 256848

I suppose if this is their waterproof Impermeable hat it makes sense that the felt isn’t light and thin. The earth tones and the raw edge brim all give it knockabout outdoorsy feel. Pity it’s not the size it was sold to me as.

It's a bit of an oddball, Brent. The liner crest looks like their Ardilla crest, but it's not entirely the same. The Ardilla line hats are usually shorter brimmed and more often than not have special finishes like longhair. So probably not an Ardilla. Have to look up and see if I can find other hats that use that similar crest. The liner could even have been put in later and the paper liner tabs suggest that it has been worked on at some point. Not something Borsalino would do in production.
We find this "impermeabile" designation mostly on the hats of the late fifties, but not necessarily on hats of heavier weight. The presence of a cellophane liner tip is consistent with the late fifties or early sixties timeframe. Very nice hat though and the colour combination works well.