Want to buy or sell something? Check the classifieds
  • The Fedora Lounge is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

The BORSALINO BROTHERHOOD

hatboyrockland

New in Town
Messages
11
Borsalino "Milano Giovanni 178" trilby with custom band (made by me). These are made with Fepsa bodies from Portugal and and finished, blocked and and trimmed in the Borsalino factory in italy.

It has a quite stiff crown but has malleable snap brim. It has a "3 3/4 crown that slopes to "3 1/4a quarter in the back and and has a "1 7/8 snap brim. And they retail for around $314.oo
IMG_20260119_165015203_HDR.jpg
IMG_20260119_165104748_HDR.jpg
IMG_20260119_164756480_HDR.jpg
 

jeffgarf

One Too Many
Messages
1,274
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
Borsalino "Milano Giovanni 178" trilby with custom band (made by me). These are made with Fepsa bodies from Portugal and and finished, blocked and and trimmed in the Borsalino factory in italy.

It has a quite stiff crown but has malleable snap brim. It has a "3 3/4 crown that slopes to "3 1/4a quarter in the back and and has a "1 7/8 snap brim. And they retail for around $314.oo
@hatboyrockland , nice to see you back and great work on the hat band. Was it a special order?
 

hatboyrockland

New in Town
Messages
11
Here's another one I did about a week ago. It's a bellissimo Toscana these are made by panizza hat factory in Tuscany Italy. This is a different shade of blue for the contrast bow. The customer also asked to have a matching vanity stitch around the brim I think it looks pretty cool! (Also note the gold bellissimo logo on the keeper, this was taken from the original bow)
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20251211_191742056_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20251211_191742056_HDR.jpg
    2.9 MB · Views: 53
  • IMG_20251208_190821272.jpg
    IMG_20251208_190821272.jpg
    2.6 MB · Views: 47

jeffgarf

One Too Many
Messages
1,274
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
Here's another one I did about a week ago. It's a bellissimo Toscana these are made by panizza hat factory in Tuscany Italy. This is a different shade of blue for the contrast bow. The customer also asked to have a matching vanity stitch around the brim I think it looks pretty cool! (Also note the gold bellissimo logo on the keeper, this was taken from the original bow)
I thought Bellisimo was made at the Magill factory in Montreal?
 

hatboyrockland

New in Town
Messages
11
I thought Bellisimo was made at the Magill factory in Montreal?
Bellissimo started importing higher quality hats from Italy I think they use cervo felt which is made in Italy. The shape of the bellissimo Toscana looks very French pressed versus a typical borsolino that's hand blocked and same with the brim, it's not curled then hand ironed like a borsalino but it's still a very nice hat. It also is lightweight like a borsalino and soft.
 

jeffgarf

One Too Many
Messages
1,274
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
Bellissimo started importing higher quality hats from Italy I think they use cervo felt which is made in Italy. The shape of the bellissimo Toscana looks very French pressed versus a typical borsolino that's hand blocked and same with the brim, it's not curled then hand ironed like a borsalino but it's still a very nice hat. It also is lightweight like a borsalino and soft.
Cervo would make sense if they do it.
 
Messages
19,978
Location
Nederland

jeffgarf

One Too Many
Messages
1,274
Location
Jerusalem, Israel
Beautiful hat, Jeff. Never ceases to amaze me how they bounce back with just a bit of steam after being rolled up in a little box for decades.
It really is amazing. Just the idea of something like this being possible was how I fell in love with the brand when I was 17 years old. Where I lived, it was an urban legend (the Jewish hats DID NOT roll up). All these years later to own one and unroll it, after all this time, is something only those here would understand.
 
Messages
13,404
Beautiful hat, Jeff. Never ceases to amaze me how they bounce back with just a bit of steam after being rolled up in a little box for decades.
And beyond that… very often the seller had no idea how to roll the hat properly so it ends up just crushed into a crumpled mess and shoved into the box. None the less they spring right back to life!
 
Messages
13,404
Exactly! That's what happened here.
I had seen that in the seller photos on yours… reminded me that I had received a few in that condition myself. Just shaping by hand and setting in the sun usually yielded pretty decent results and a bit of steam gets out the more stubborn creases. They may never have been intended to stay in these coffin boxes long term or repeatedly but they are rather resilient.
 

Daniele Tanto

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,584
Location
Verona - Italia
When I went to look up this one, I saw that @Daniele Tanto had posted his own Misto Tunnel, but the photo files were missing. Here is my own. It deserves to be seen here.
It's true Jeff, I own a Borsalino "Misto Tunnel" hat, and it's somewhere, perhaps in Pandora's Box of Greys :)
I'll find it, and I hope it also comes with a Panizza hat that has the same characteristics as the Borsalino M. Tunnel.
Borsalino "Misto" felt hats are among my favorites from the Alessandria company.
 

Stu K 323

Familiar Face
Messages
79
Location
UK
First Borsalino. 1996 Guido in navy, imported from Bencraft haters. Had it less than an hour, so not sure if I will leave it shaped as is, or do what I would normally do to a fedora yet. Beautiful hat, NOS I believe. Rabbit, 3 inch brim, quite tall crown, haven’t measured it yet but I believe around 5inches open.
IMG_3209.jpeg
IMG_3210.jpeg
IMG_3211.jpeg
IMG_3208.jpeg
 
Last edited:

mojoboy31

New in Town
Messages
30
First Borsalino. 1996 Guido in navy, imported from Bencraft haters. Had it less than an hour, so not sure if I will leave it shaped as is, or do what I would normally do to a fedora yet. Beautiful hat, NOS I believe. Rabbit, 3 inch brim, quite tall crown, haven’t measured it yet but I believe around 5inches open.
View attachment 764748 View attachment 764749 View attachment 764750 View attachment 764747
Wow, I love that hat! Very nice.
I have a Stetson Stratoliner in Navy that is a bit similar looking.

I have a question about Borsalino. I have two so far. The Bogart Cut 1, which is amazing looking, but I didn't know Borsalino runs small, so it's just a little too small to really wear. My next one, I made sure to size up one, and it fits great. Now I am not sure the name of that second hat, Hollandhats just had it marked "premium". It's a wide brim, fur felt, but it's a very soft felt, so soft it's kind of impossible to shape, even with steam, and it quickly loses its form, and looks messy and rough. Has anyone experienced this?
 

Team_Feisar

New in Town
Messages
48
Bought this mystery Borsalino (also, my first Borsalino) in dark grey from a small local hat store that doesn't even carry the brand anymore. It came without a box or any tags and has allegedly been sitting in the store for longer than the current owners. Going by the old store sticker on the sweatband, it could be from anywhere between the mid 80s to mid 2010 when management changed. If anybody has an idea about the model or other info, I'd appreciate it. The felt is soft yet structured and I'm pretty certain it's rabbit.

What got me are the dimensions, I'm a 6'7 dude so almost all "ready to wear" hats look undersized on me. This one has a 2,7 inch Brim and a 5,6 Inch Crown even with the bash.
 

Attachments

  • 20260127_230828.jpg
    20260127_230828.jpg
    3 MB · Views: 62
  • 20260127_230839.jpg
    20260127_230839.jpg
    3.9 MB · Views: 70
  • 20260127_230849.jpg
    20260127_230849.jpg
    3.2 MB · Views: 75
  • 20260127_230906.jpg
    20260127_230906.jpg
    4.5 MB · Views: 72
  • 20260127_230858.jpg
    20260127_230858.jpg
    3.9 MB · Views: 67

Forum statistics

Threads
114,611
Messages
3,178,586
Members
58,444
Latest member
dmac67
Top