Okay, sometimes you just have to come to grips with the fact that your favorite hats don't quite fit.
These are both Borsalinos from the famed Bulgarian: I bought them as New Old Stock, but have worn them. The felt is in great shape; the sweat bands are not pristine, but soft. The grey one never had a liner; the blue one did, but I removed it (as I hate them). I stretched them to fit my head -- 7 1/4 -- but they keep shrinking back down to 7 1/8. So I figure I'll trade them for an actual 7 1/4.
Pictures here.
I think that the grey one is from the 30's... maybe early 40's; and the blue one from the late 20's or early 30's. (But I'd happily be corrected.)
The blue is Extra Superiore, and a bit dressier than the grey: it has a bound edge, whereas the other is unadorned. The binding and the ribbon are in fact the same color of deep blue as the hat. (The photos are pretty accurate: it's a *very* dark blue.) The felt is extremely thin, with a superb hand -- I keep it unblocked, and hand bash in whatever shape I feel like that day. (This particular bash took all of ten seconds...)
The grey is a Trionfo Superiore -- it's a warm medium-to-dark grey, with a black ribbon. The felt is equally thin and malleable (again, I just hand bash it); the surface is less finely pounced than the blue. My guess is that the blue was meant for your Sunday best, and the grey was to be worn to the office.
As you can see in the photo, I split the back of the leather sweat band on the grey one, in order to stretch it. You could easily put this back together (if you wanted to make it, say, a size 7) -- you could even just tie the ribbon more tightly: it has that amazing adjustable ribbon threaded through the leather.
I'd like to trade for 7 1/4 hats. If you have something really superb, I'd trade both for a single hat -- it would have to be a gem.
I'm looking for a tall crown (like these), and a medium to wide brim. They don't have to be Borsalinos -- I'd be happy with a high-end Knox, or Dobbs, or something exotic. In fact, a vintage Open Road or Stratoliner would make me happy (or a really good clone). Not interested in modern hats (nothing later than 1970). Make me an offer!
(By the way: The vintage piggybank is not for sale, but the vintage Super Graphic is, if you're into large format photography...)
These are both Borsalinos from the famed Bulgarian: I bought them as New Old Stock, but have worn them. The felt is in great shape; the sweat bands are not pristine, but soft. The grey one never had a liner; the blue one did, but I removed it (as I hate them). I stretched them to fit my head -- 7 1/4 -- but they keep shrinking back down to 7 1/8. So I figure I'll trade them for an actual 7 1/4.
Pictures here.
I think that the grey one is from the 30's... maybe early 40's; and the blue one from the late 20's or early 30's. (But I'd happily be corrected.)
The blue is Extra Superiore, and a bit dressier than the grey: it has a bound edge, whereas the other is unadorned. The binding and the ribbon are in fact the same color of deep blue as the hat. (The photos are pretty accurate: it's a *very* dark blue.) The felt is extremely thin, with a superb hand -- I keep it unblocked, and hand bash in whatever shape I feel like that day. (This particular bash took all of ten seconds...)
The grey is a Trionfo Superiore -- it's a warm medium-to-dark grey, with a black ribbon. The felt is equally thin and malleable (again, I just hand bash it); the surface is less finely pounced than the blue. My guess is that the blue was meant for your Sunday best, and the grey was to be worn to the office.
As you can see in the photo, I split the back of the leather sweat band on the grey one, in order to stretch it. You could easily put this back together (if you wanted to make it, say, a size 7) -- you could even just tie the ribbon more tightly: it has that amazing adjustable ribbon threaded through the leather.
I'd like to trade for 7 1/4 hats. If you have something really superb, I'd trade both for a single hat -- it would have to be a gem.
I'm looking for a tall crown (like these), and a medium to wide brim. They don't have to be Borsalinos -- I'd be happy with a high-end Knox, or Dobbs, or something exotic. In fact, a vintage Open Road or Stratoliner would make me happy (or a really good clone). Not interested in modern hats (nothing later than 1970). Make me an offer!
(By the way: The vintage piggybank is not for sale, but the vintage Super Graphic is, if you're into large format photography...)
