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moontheloon said:

back away from the hat rack .... slowly back away ... check your back pocket for your wallet ... then run as fast as you can to your car and never ... and I mean never... think about hats again

first rule of hat club ... don't talk about hat club !!

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This public service message brought to you by Moontheloon.

He's right, you know. Oh, it starts out innocently enough. You decide to get a hat for yourself, find one you like, and plunk down your cash. You start wearing your new hat--tentatively at first, unsure about how people will react to your "new look". But soon--very soon--your hat is simply a part of you, and you never leave home without it. Before long, people comment on those rare days when you don't wear your hat. "Hey, I almost didn't recognize you without your hat!" Then you see another hat you like. It's more expensive than the first, but it's of a higher quality, so that's okay. Now you have two hats. You find yourself thinking, "Which hat shall I wear today?" Welcome to the slippery slope! The next thing you know, those hats have multiplied like rabbits and you find yourself wondering where you'll find room to keep them when you're not wearing them. Then comes the day when you realize hat #7 fits a little snug, so you need to buy a hat jack to stretch it out just a little. And maybe a steamer to re-shape the crown on #12. And wouldn't #18 look better with a different color ribbon? And, now that you think about it, #23 would look better with 1/4" trimmed off of the brim. Yeah, I'll do that after I've spent 8 hours scouring eBay for that vintage Dobbs I've been looking for...

Go ahead. Buy a hat. We dare you. But don't say we didn't warn you.

Oh, and definitely the hat with the wider brim.

Thanks for the encouragement/discouragement, guys.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Zombie_61 said:

This public service message brought to you by Moontheloon.

He's right, you know. Oh, it starts out innocently enough. You decide to get a hat for yourself, find one you like, and plunk down your cash. You start wearing your new hat--tentatively at first, unsure about how people will react to your "new look". But soon--very soon--your hat is simply a part of you, and you never leave home without it. Before long, people comment on those rare days when you don't wear your hat. "Hey, I almost didn't recognize you without your hat!" Then you see another hat you like. It's more expensive than the first, but it's of a higher quality, so that's okay. Now you have two hats. You find yourself thinking, "Which hat shall I wear today?" Welcome to the slippery slope! The next thing you know, those hats have multiplied like rabbits and you find yourself wondering where you'll find room to keep them when you're not wearing them. Then comes the day when you realize hat #7 fits a little snug, so you need to buy a hat jack to stretch it out just a little. And maybe a steamer to re-shape the crown on #12. And wouldn't #18 look better with a different color ribbon? And, now that you think about it, #23 would look better with 1/4" trimmed off of the brim. Yeah, I'll do that after I've spent 8 hours scouring eBay for that vintage Dobbs I've been looking for...

Go ahead. Buy a hat. We dare you. But don't say we didn't warn you.

Oh, and definitely the hat with the wider brim.

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Yep! .

After his visit to the factory with Daniele, Steve kindly posted the new Borsalino catalogue (and much other welcome information) and this further piqued my interest.
I have a new Borsalino Beaver (Christmas present to myself) and I note the following from Delmonico's website:
'Delmonico Hatter has been in business since 1908 and we can say that this is the finest quality fur felt hat that we have ever had the opportunity to sell' etc.
I don't know which manufacturers' hats they have sold since 1908, but what I conclude from that publicity is that this modern Borsalino is likely a better hat than any other (including those of American manufacture). Yet Borsalino quality is reputed to have sadly declined during the last thirty years or so.
My question is this: Borsalino quality superior to the rest? - was it always thus?
I can only say that I also think this hat is of superb quality and will post it in the Borsalino Brotherhood.
Chris

A wee bit of hyperbole perhaps. If you are loving your new Borsalino, mission accomplished.

sounds like someone was making out with the blarney stone

Snortman45 said:

Thanks for the encouragement/discouragement, guys.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

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All in good fun with no malice intended. In fact, you'll find we're supportive to the point of being enablers.

Oh I know. A nod's as good as a wink to a blind bat, eh?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

Well, the store I had hoped to find a couple of felt fedoras to try on had only cowboy hats. I did try on a couple of crushable felt ones, but the wider brim didn't look as nice as the one I tried on Wednesday. Oh well, keep on looking.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

se couvrir said:

After his visit to the factory with Daniele, Steve kindly posted the new Borsalino catalogue (and much other welcome information) and this further piqued my interest.
I have a new Borsalino Beaver (Christmas present to myself) and I note the following from Delmonico's website:
'Delmonico Hatter has been in business since 1908 and we can say that this is the finest quality fur felt hat that we have ever had the opportunity to sell' etc.
I don't know which manufacturers' hats they have sold since 1908, but what I conclude from that publicity is that this modern Borsalino is likely a better hat than any other (including those of American manufacture). Yet Borsalino quality is reputed to have sadly declined during the last thirty years or so.
My question is this: Borsalino quality superior to the rest? - was it always thus?
I can only say that I also think this hat is of superb quality and will post it in the Borsalino Brotherhood.
Chris

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Chris, I do not think there is, will there ever was an absolute in the world of hats as in all other product categories. Borsalino has built throughout its history over a hundred years a deserved reputation as a manufacturer of high quality hats. This is the immense legacy that the current Borsalino gives top priority on its way (often difficult) in a world where the hat is almost entirely neglected.
It is a commonplace that the production quality of the Borsalino is so dropped down in the last thirty years.
The sale of the Borsalino hat factory by the family to other local entrepreneurs coincided with hat crisis has not helped to maintain consistent quality.
What has become clear over the past three decades has been the will of Borsalino, new management, to penetrate all market sectors and also fashion with results have been mixed.
The fact remains that the new management has produced hats of the highest class for a unreceptive market and that much of the average production had a little commensurate with the quality cost.
This was the problem. Often combined with continued contraction of both the internal market (in Italy the key market for an Italian company demand is weak) and abroad.

Perhaps some would always only by Borsalino hats exceptional, considering it's the only factory still standing despite the decimation of the competitors, and then not buy them!

I do not agree on the emphasis of Del Monico as other sellers of hats for other products.

My question for the current market is: Given that produces Borsalino hats not up to expectations tell me from which manufacturer has reached the maximum limit to which the "Casa d'Alessandria should arrive?
I would like some realistic answers.

In my visit to the showroom of the Borsalino I could see the best and worst of the current production, but I can assure you and others FL members that in my experience and personal taste at least five hats were of exceptional quality and workmanship as well as some that Steve has photographed in the production and posted of FL.

Thank you for your opinion Daniele. I'm happy that we are of the same opinion regarding current Borsalino high-end production - long may it continue.
Chris

New to the forum! Had a quick question about a hat I just picked up off of eBay. I've got a growing collection of vintage Borsalinos and Stetsons (and can usually ID a model on my own), but this Boss-looking piece seems to have me stumped.

It's described as a Stetson Thirty-Five (which you can see on the heavily-faded sweatband). Does anyone know any further information on this model? My online searches have come up empty!

Any help or insight would be quite appreciated! I'll send this one off to get a replacement sweatband and get it in the rotation, so knowing what it is doesn't really impact its use, but I'm sure all of you on the forum can appreciate the deep-down drive to know a bit of the history behind what you've got on your head.

jtrdanny said:

New to the forum! Had a quick question about a hat I just picked up off of eBay. I've got a growing collection of vintage Borsalinos and Stetsons (and can usually ID a model on my own), but this Boss-looking piece seems to have me stumped.

It's described as a Stetson Thirty-Five (which you can see on the heavily-faded sweatband). Does anyone know any further information on this model? My online searches have come up empty!

Any help or insight would be quite appreciated! I'll send this one off to get a replacement sweatband and get it in the rotation, so knowing what it is doesn't really impact its use, but I'm sure all of you on the forum can appreciate the deep-down drive to know a bit of the history behind what you've got on your head.

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I saw that when it turned up. Being too small for me, I didn't watch it. There appeared to be some other markings on the sweat. Can you show those?

The Stetson 5X Clear Beaver sold for $35 before WWII. It was not to my knowledge ever called a Stetson 35. From the liner, this is a later hat, 1960s+ It's got a nice feeling to it.

Very cool! Here's the other (very low quality) picture from inside the sweatband off the eBay ad. (Doesn't seem to be a model name. Possibly a retailer stamp or name?)

That script logo is throwing me, too. I've been searching the forum and well as broader image searches, and haven't seen a script "Stetson" like that. With the liner being so easy to replace, I was banking on being able to date it off of that sweatband logo, but it seems to be a tall order.

I had a gut feeling the liner had been replaced, as clean as it looked, but if it's from the 60's that could very well be original. I'll take a few quality pictures when it actually arrives. I'm pretty excited to get my hands on it... it's the first "outside the box" kind of Stetson I've picked up. Up to this point it's been mostly OR's and Stratoliners. Thanks for the expertise!

I have an old Dobbs Westward that is in great condition. However, the plastic tip liner has hardened and has become quite stiff/inflexible. Does anyone have a fix for this? It makes quite the racket when I put the hat on or take it off. Any input would be much appreciated.

jtrdanny said:

...That script logo is throwing me, too. I've been searching the forum and well as broader image searches, and haven't seen a script "Stetson" like that. With the liner being so easy to replace, I was banking on being able to date it off of that sweatband logo, but it seems to be a tall order...

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Looking forward to your photos of the hat and any labels or marks when you receive it. The brim binding and longhair finish are reminiscent of earlier styles, like this Real Nutria from the 1920s. The liner and sweatband and ribbon are a more recent style. It is possible that they were replacements on an older hat. You'll be able to tell this when you have the hat in hand.

I have seen a "Thirty Five" on ebay that was in new shape before and it seemed to be from the 1970s or so. Tags had the US and metric size on them, etc.

Thanks Alan! As far as the style, the one you just posted is as close as I've seen. (What a great lookin' hat!) Like you said, the pencil-curl brim, wide binding, and long-hair finish definitely stood out as something, if not unusual, at least less-common among the Stetsons I've typically seen. I have no illusions of it being an all-original piece, but it's going to be put to work, not on a shelf, so I figured it was a good grab. Once it's in hand, I'll carry on the search for clues.

Does the bash rest on the top of your head?

I now have my first hat, which is a wool felt job that I like alright, however I've noticed a something of a furrow in what's left of my hair that matches the center dent of my hat. So as I walked last night I pushed out the center dent and kept on walking and found that my hat fell onto my ears after a few steps. So, I thought I'd ask if the bash on one's hat is intended to rest on the head? The sweat band is fabric and the fit is pretty good though it loosens up some after I wear it a while. I thought a leather sweat might behave differently.