I got another vintage Borsalino from the ebay rummage sale. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8204271014&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWN:IT&rd=1
I don’t know if the seller was lying when he said this designation (xxxxx) meant it was the best hat Borsalino ever made, but this is certainly the best felt and nicest hat I have ever seen. (It is much better than the one I boasted about here:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3624 )
Unfortunately, the seller was NOT lying when he said there were some nicks on the hat and a pinhole in the top. This is an amazing hat (note also the beautiful finish and pleating in the liner), but the imperfections are real.
No one would notice the nicks (certainly not the pinhole, but there is a nibble on the crown in the back), but, instead, I think I will be wearing one of the two other European Borsalinos I got as my dress hats. I think this one will be used as the stress test model in the rain. Lets see how the fancy stuff holds up.
What a pity. If this were in perfect condition, I would be in love.
So far, these two are the nicest Borsalinos I have seen and they were both made for the European market. I have a third European Borsalino that is also very nice, but without the pleats in the liner. I don’t know if the European market hats were better as a rule than those made for the US market, or whether this is just true of the ones I have come across. One more observation - none of the European market Borsalinos have the “radiator� corrugated material insert behind the sweat that is supposed to provide cooling and is present on the American market Borsos that I have. Of course, since I don’t know how to tell the date of these hats, the absence of the insert could just reflect when they were made.
I don’t know if the seller was lying when he said this designation (xxxxx) meant it was the best hat Borsalino ever made, but this is certainly the best felt and nicest hat I have ever seen. (It is much better than the one I boasted about here:
http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=3624 )
Unfortunately, the seller was NOT lying when he said there were some nicks on the hat and a pinhole in the top. This is an amazing hat (note also the beautiful finish and pleating in the liner), but the imperfections are real.
No one would notice the nicks (certainly not the pinhole, but there is a nibble on the crown in the back), but, instead, I think I will be wearing one of the two other European Borsalinos I got as my dress hats. I think this one will be used as the stress test model in the rain. Lets see how the fancy stuff holds up.
What a pity. If this were in perfect condition, I would be in love.
So far, these two are the nicest Borsalinos I have seen and they were both made for the European market. I have a third European Borsalino that is also very nice, but without the pleats in the liner. I don’t know if the European market hats were better as a rule than those made for the US market, or whether this is just true of the ones I have come across. One more observation - none of the European market Borsalinos have the “radiator� corrugated material insert behind the sweat that is supposed to provide cooling and is present on the American market Borsos that I have. Of course, since I don’t know how to tell the date of these hats, the absence of the insert could just reflect when they were made.
