Borsalino Hat Museum Pictures

[DOUGLAS]

PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSE!!!!

 

[feltfan]

If I would have known the response to my pictures , I would have taken more . I promise next time I will take as many as possible .

Let me know if you need to take along a full time photographer.
Although I suppose there are better photographers here, I am willing!

I might have to bring a few empty suitcases along...

 

[DOUGLAS]

I will supply the cases for you. I promise not to be greedy.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I love this thread and bow to Besdor for creating and adding to it. Wonderful! My only regret is in finding out that whole decades-worth of Borsalinos cannot be dated according to the numbers on their paper labels. I'd always hoped that there was a code just waiting to be broken ...


.

 

[GoneSolo]

I love this thread and bow to Besdor for creating and adding to it. Wonderful! My only regret is in finding out that whole decades-worth of Borsalinos cannot be dated according to the numbers on their paper labels. I'd always hoped that there was a code just waiting to be broken ...


.

Is it safe to say that if one finds a Borsalino with one of the liners pictured above that it is vintage? Are there other liners seen in the older Borslinos?

 

[besdor]

Borsalino used many different lineres over thepast 100 years. One easy way to tell if a hat is "vintage" is to look at the leather sweatband. If the words" Original House" are printed in English, then your hat is older (pre 1986) .








Steven
Bencraft Hats

 

[Aldus]

Going to Torino in March

I'm not sure I'll be able to get down the road to Allesandria, but I'd love to. Any advice if I go, Steven? And, I wonder, if this is not too ot, if you found any vintage Borsalino sources in or near Allesandria?

Thanks for the photos. I would never have guessed there WAS a hat museum if it hadn't been for your post.

 

[besdor]

I'm sure that the town of Alessandria is loaded with vintage hats . When the orginal factory closed in 1985 , people came into the factory and "took" what they wanted. What was left over eventualy became the museum . The problem is that the museum is not owned by Borsalino but the town of Alessandria. Thats why it was clsed for so many years. There was a legal battle over who would run it. I have been to a few antique markets over the years looking for vintage stuff when I go to Italy but there hasnt been much to buy as to hat related items.

If you get to the town , definately go to the Museum. Try not to drool too much!!!

Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Aldus]

Thanks indeed Steven. I'll report back here when I return. And especially if I stumble on some stash filled with ultra luxe vintage NOS Borsalinos. Unfortunately, in ten years, pre-eBay, of occasionally looking around flea markets and the few vintage shops in Italy I knew(in Florence, Venice, Milan, and Torino)-- unlike London or Amsterdam-- I cannot remember ever seeing great mens stuff or a single hat that wasn't both small and well worn. Part of the problem is, I think, that the country's really wealthy "old" families have, in many cases, remained resident for several generations in the same house, and haven't needed to clear their attics of anything, ever.

 

[besdor]

Aldus , the one great place that I found for vintage hats was Amsterdam . Five years ago I was there with my wife. She had to hold me back because I was ready to buy a ton of vintage hats that I found. There were quite a few vintage clothing stores as well as markets that had tons of hats. Great prices too. I ended up buying a few 1960's Barbisio hats and resold them in my store .

PS . my inbox has been emptied ! Now you can PM me


Steven
www.becrafthats.com

 

[Garrett]

This thread needed to be bumped. Let the new members see the extraordinary display of Borsalino History!

 

[zetwal]

If I would have known the response to my pictures , I would have taken more . I promise next time I will take as many as possible.

Thanks so much for sharing the trip. Wonderful!

 

[mayserwegener]

Super! My late Mom's cousin still lives in Alessandria. I know his wife's family goes back many generations in that town. I will have to visit that museum some day.

 

[besdor]

The museum is open only on the weekends. You can take pictures but you cant touch any of the hats . I went with the director of Borsalino and was able to touch and feel all of the hats. It was an amazing experience.




Steven
www.bencrafthats.com

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Spotted this in Liverpool...

thought it was a nice addition to this great thread!

-dixon 'borso' cannon

 

[buler]

This thread needed to be bumped. Let the new members see the extraordinary display of Borsalino History!

Thanks Garrett! Hadn't run across this before. I'm still dumbstruck by the wall-o-hats....

B

 

[buler]

Friday's bump.

B

 

[mercuryfelt76]

Buler, thank you so much for bumping this thread as I would have never found it. What amazing photos, I absolutely loved admiring them. Great thread.

 

[besdor]

I will be going back in October and will take more pictures. The museum personel are very strict about openning the cases unless you have permission from the company.
Suprsingly, the museum isnt owned by Borsalino but the commune of Alessandria. Borsalino just helps in maintaining it .

 

[danofarlington]

I will be going back in October and will take more pictures. The museum personel are very strict about openning the cases unless you have permission from the company.
Suprsingly, the museum isnt owned by Borsalino but the commune of Alessandria. Borsalino just helps in maintaining it .

By virtue of your museum visit, as wel as your role as a hat merchant, you are now the guy who has touched a lot of vintage hats, as well as knowing all about the modern hats of Borsalino and other makers. What do you say to the controversy of vintage felt versus modern felt? Some swear up and down that the old stuff is superior, while others claim that modern felt is as good as the old ever was. What can you say generally about that?