Borsalino Fedora: Is It Worth It? (Definitive Review)

Dress hats have certainly had their ups and downs over the past several decades in menswear, going from something that would be worn by most men almost every day to something that’s only worn today by true menswear enthusiasts. In the case of the Italian hat maker, Borsalino, are their offerings (including their popular fedoras) truly worth your money?

While several smaller brands still hold a prestigious reputation today, including Dobbs, Akubra, and Optimo, perhaps the two biggest names in hats today are companies whose history goes back over a century: Stetson and Borsalino.

The hats of both of these brands used to be worn by many stylish men, and Borsalino, in particular, counted men like Humphrey Bogart, Ernest Hemingway, Al Capone, Michael Jackson, and David Bowie, among its wearers.

Hats occupy more of a niche market today. However, there are still notable wearers of Borsalino hats these days, including Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, and James Spader, who have all been seen wearing them on occasion. 

However, even the mightiest in the dress hat market have struggled to maintain their once massive influence, and, in fact, Borsalino declared bankruptcy in 2017. After rebounding and rebranding somewhat, Borsalino still exists today, and they carry several offerings, both more classically styled and those that are more fashion-forward.

Most of their hats are priced well into the $200 range today, with some even above $500. Keeping those relatively high prices in mind, then, today’s Is It Worth It? review will determine whether or not Borsalino still produces a quality product with good materials and construction or whether you’re better off leaving their hats behind.

Before getting into specific offerings, however, we should take a look at what made Borsalino the hat company it is today.

The History of Borsalino

Based out of Alessandria, Piedmont, the brand is the oldest Italian hat maker still in business today. The company’s co-founder and namesake, Giuseppe Borsalino, learned his trade in France before moving back home to start his own hat company.

Giuseppe and his brother Lazzaro Borsalino founded Borsalino Giuseppe e Fratello in 1857, and Giuseppe died in 1900, leaving Teresio Borsalino to take over the company.

Interestingly enough, however, around 1905 or 1906, cousin Gian Battista Borsalino raised money and founded his own Borsalino hat company. So, up until the year 1936, there were actually two hat companies bearing the Borsalino name.

The original company founded by Giuseppe grew over the 1800s, and in 1888, it moved into a state-of-the-art factory in Corso Cento Cannoni, Alessandria. While the company no longer operates out of this factory, the building currently houses The Borsalino Hat Museum, where you can see the original machines that made the hats.

In 1900, Giuseppe’s company won the Grand Prix, which was the most prestigious award for hat makers at the time.

Business became increasingly harder for both Borsalino hat companies during the Great Depression, at which point, they merged into one company. The business was family-owned until the mid-1980s and has changed hands multiple times since then.

In the opinion of hat expert and friend of the channel, Steve Heck, the quality of felt that Borsalino used in its hats actually improved around the time period of World War II and shortly thereafter.

They started to introduce more specialty finishes around this time and were able to source better fur, given that, natively, Italy doesn’t have a great source of fur for felt hats. Meanwhile, the hat components pre-World War II, including the sweatbands and liners, were of very high quality, especially for the export market.

Until the first World War, the brand was at something of a peak, employing over 2500 employees and producing up to 2 million hats annually. Perhaps their biggest moment of publicity came in the classic film Casablanca, where Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman were wearing Borsalino hats in the film’s famous closing scene.

There’s also a film from 1970 simply called Borsalino that prominently shows off many of their hats.

Slightly before that, though, and dating to the mid-1950s, culture shifts precipitated a decline in hat wearing from many men, and the company had to downsize a bit. They relocated to a factory in Spinetta Marengo, out of which they still operate today.

As mentioned before, the company was purchased in the 1980s from Vittorio Vaccarino, the last surviving member of the Borsalino family, and has changed hands multiple times through the 80s, 90s, and today.

The quality of Borsalino’s hats was consistently very high up until the early 1980s, when the family sold the business and the original factory closed. Since then, the quality of their hats has varied somewhat, especially considering the high price point.

The company had its worst period in 2017, the year of its 160th anniversary, when, as mentioned before, it declared bankruptcy. It was sold at auction to the private equity firm Haeres Equita, who still own it today; they’ve promised to keep the current factory in Alessandria and follow the over 50-step process involved in making the hats.

With these many production steps, it can take up to seven weeks to produce a felt hat and up to six months to produce a straw model. Again mentioning Steve Heck; he visited the Borsalino factory in January of 2016, and the images here are from that visit and tour.

In his observation, most of the machinery found at the current factory was moved from the original factory when the company was sold in the 1980s. The front end of the felt production process dates back to around the beginning of the 20th century.

While there are still many steps involved in producing Borsalino’s hats, they have actually cut down on the number of individual steps in recent years for cost-saving measures.

Borsalino now sources their processed fur from Portugal and, occasionally, from Belgium. And in a potentially positive sign, Borsalino has recently returned to producing their own straw hats after outsourcing previously to other companies like Tesi.

During Steve’s tour, Borsalino representatives were very open to answering questions and showing off many stages of the process, so they’re certainly transparent about the product they make.

What You Should Look For in a Quality Hat

Material Is Key

Of course, the first thing to consider when looking at a fedora is the felt or straw sourced for its construction. In other words, the material is the most important component of a quality hat as different fibers will hold up better against the elements than others will.

Synthetic materials and canvas would be the cheapest, and these are the types of hats usually associated with the infamous “neckbeards.”

Following up from this, you’ll find hats made from wool felt, then rabbit fur felt, and, finally, beaver fur felt, which is of the highest quality.

The reason beaver is the most coveted material is that their fur is highly water-resistant, allowing a hat made from beaver fur felt to resist multiple possible downpours over the course of its wearable lifetime.

After all, when a hat is subjected to too much moisture, it can lose its shape and become unattractive, at which point it needs to be re-blocked. On that subject, hatters are rare these days, so if you’d like to learn how to re-block your own felt hats at home, our guide on hat re-blocking has you covered.

Today, most quality hats will be made from rabbit fur commonly sourced from Australia and different parts of Europe, as different rabbits have become invasive species in this part of the world, and thus, are in large supply. Also, the beaver population worldwide has begun to recover somewhat from near extinction, meaning that beaver fur can also be ethically sourced these days as well.

While most rabbit fur felt is still of good quality and can certainly take a beating, it isn’t quite as water-resistant as beaver fur felt is. The length of the hair fibers will also help determine how durable a hat is in the long term, and a quality hat can last a lifetime without ever developing any holes in the felt. 

The dye finishing process also plays a big role as lesser quality dyes can bleed out of a hat when exposed to water.

Turning for a moment to straw hats like Panamas, the quality of these is determined mainly by how tight and dense the weave of the straw will be. The finest straw hats, then, are carefully woven by hand from Ecuadorian Montecristi straw.

Borsalino hats today seem to be most commonly made from rabbit fur felt, and they don’t always list the materials used, even on some of their most expensive listings. The felt used today is also made from shorter fibers and is more lightweight than its vintage counterparts, so these hats may be slightly less durable over time.

Older production methods, such as using chemicals like mercury to more tightly bond the felted fibers together, made vintage hats more durable. But, processes like these were outlawed in the 1940s and 50s as the chemicals used were extremely harmful to the hatters making the hats.

Prolonged exposure to chemicals like mercury could lead to negative psychological effects, and, indeed, this is where the phrase “mad as a hatter” originally comes from. While unfortunate, this older process does mean that vintage models will often be sturdier than the models made today.

Quality of Sweatband Leather

Another hallmark to check on when it comes to classic men’s hats is the quality of the leather used for the sweatband. This, of course, will play a large role in the comfort of the hat as the sweatband is the part that will be making direct contact with your head, and a quality hat won’t skip out on using quality leather.

Most of Borsalino’s felt hats today still have leather sweatbands though some of their straw models will have fabric sweatbands. This is fairly common, though, as fabric will better absorb sweat, and, of course, straw hats are typically worn in summer when the weather is hotter.

You can also check the stitch density and quality at the brim welt and look at the edge of the brim to see if the hat is of good quality.

Styling of Hats Offered

Most hats from the golden age of menswear had an open crown that could then be bashed into any shape that the wearer desired, including shapes like the teardrop, diamond crown, or center dent. The width of the brim would often fall somewhere between two and one quarter and three inches, and crowns would be of similar heights to harmonize well with the brim.

Borsalino hats available today are often a bit more modern in their styling, however, with a more tapered crown at the top and brims that are a bit less wide, often around two inches. There are exceptions, though, with models like the Bogart and Alessandria, and we’ll be profiling a few particular models here.

However, keep in mind that a brim of two inches is about as narrow as you’ll want to go while still maintaining the practical benefit of protecting your eyes from sunlight.

Depending on your own personal tastes and goals for wearing a hat, it can be seen as either a positive or a negative that Borsalino has embraced some of the more modern trends in their hat styling.

Some of their current product lines like Street, Arts & Crafts, and Glamour have even embraced such trends as bold logo-ing all across the hat. And even their more classically styled hats can’t avoid some logo stamping today.

Our Thoughts on Borsalino Fedora Hats

We ordered two new hats from Borsalino to examine for today’s review, and both were made in Italy.

The first is the Francesco Fur Felt Fedora in charcoal grey. According to the Borsalino website, Francesco is a soft feeling fur felt hat with a smaller brim and a more tapered crown. The brim measures 1 and ⅞ inches and is finished with a plain edge—the tapered crown measures 4 inches at the front.

The Francesco has a full satin lining, a leather interior sweatband, and a grosgrain hatband, and the Borsalino name is discreetly embossed in gold on the bow of the hatband. Your mileage may vary with how discreet you actually believe this to be, however.

Fedoras with slightly narrower brims like these are commonly associated today with figures like Frank Sinatra, and, as such, this is why Borsalino chose to call this model Francesco.

The other model we ordered today is simply called the Beaver Fur Felt Hat with a medium brim in dark brown. According to Borsalino, this hat is made from 100% beaver fur felt and features a 2 ½ half inch brim, 4 ½ inch center dent crown, grosgrain hat band, leather sweatband, and interior lining and is, according to Borsalino, one of the finest fedoras that they currently offer.

Fit: True To Size

Both of these hats are in size 56 or, in other words, a size 7 in the US or 6 ⅞ in the UK. While different online retailers may differ in how they give sale prices, the full retail price of the Francesco is $390, and the full price of the beaver fur felt hat is $710.

Both fit my head relatively well, so, fit-wise, we’d call them true to size.

Brim: Raw, Unfinished Edge

As mentioned, both feature a plain or raw edge to their brim rather than being trimmed in fabric or sewn. While this look is fairly typical among modern hats and even some vintage hats and is perfectly unassuming, I personally find it to look a bit rustic or unfinished in appearance, because, after all, it is unfinished.

Conversely, the vintage fedoras in my own collection feature a subtle Cavanagh edge, which refers to a style of hand felting on the brim that is no longer offered on modern hats. I’m accustomed to this small detail and, to me, it makes a hat brim feel slightly more complete, but this is a minor concern overall.

Ribbon: Gold Branding

Both hats have grosgrain ribbons, black on the charcoal hat and brown on the dark brown hat, and, as mentioned, Borsalino is stamped onto the bow.

While it is relatively subtle compared to some of their other product lines, it’s still a bit flashy for my personal taste overall. 

Wind Cord: A Vintage Detail

The beaver fur hat also features a wind cord, which is a somewhat obscure vintage detail. The small button can be inserted through a jacket’s lapel buttonhole, so if things are too windy, the hat won’t get too far from the wearer if it’s blown off.

And while we didn’t field test the wind cord on this hat, I give Borsalino style points for the wind cord’s inclusion.

Our Overall Thoughts

The overall workmanship on both hats is solid. The stitching is even and tidy with no obvious defects. The lining and leather also seem to be of good quality, and the felt strikes a good balance between softness and durability.

One detail I’m not too fond of is the somewhat visible exterior stitching of the hatband to the crown, though, again, this is subtle.

As far as general appearance goes, I personally don’t think that either style suits me terribly well, although the Francesco style is a bit more to my liking. Still, the crowns taper a bit more than I’m personally used to, and the beaver fur hat has a brim that is too wide for me.

Of course, these appearance critiques are ultimately just subjective, as someone with a different face shape might look better in either or both of these styles. By the way, we have a guide to help you to find the right hat for your face shape.

Borsalino Hats: Then vs. Now

We mentioned friend of the channel Steve Heck earlier on, and, in fact, he sent us several vintage Borsalino hats to take a look at. As an aside here, he also sent us some of the vintage bowler hats you can see in our video on that hat style. You may visit Steve’s website, from which we also sourced some of our historical information. Big thanks, Steve!

Looking at the vintage hats, which included fedoras, Homburgs, and a trilby, it is clear that a slightly higher quality degree of workmanship went into the construction of these hats. For example, you can take note of the higher stitch density on the interior sweatband and the lack of visible stitching on the exterior hatband.

In particular, the dark brown trilby, which Steve believes dates to the late 1930s, fits and suits me best, although, again, this is somewhat subjective in the looks department. Also, while most of the hats, aside from the Homburgs, are still soft and supple, they feel slightly more durable in their construction, though this may be due to some of the older techniques we outlined earlier. 

Overall, the difference in quality between the vintage Borsalino hats and the modern ones isn’t large. However, it is still apparent to somebody who’s really looking at the fine details.

Are Borsalino Hats Worth It or Not?

Borsalino still makes a quality product, though not quite to the same high standard that it once had at earlier points in its history. Some of the design choices of their current models are a bit odd. But, there are, of course, still more classic offerings available.

And like other storied menswear companies such as Allen Edmonds, observant buyers have noted a slight increase in quality control issues in recent years and decades. However, your mileage may vary with this.

Of course, $200 to $500 for many men will simply be a lot to drop on a hat. Indeed, at this price point, many bespoke headers could make you a beaver fur or beaver blend hat to your own specifications and with your individual head shape in mind.

While the price point will still be high in these circumstances, if you do actually visit a hatter in person, you’ll be able to try on different products and get the exact fit. We would call Borsalino a safe brand to explore, however, if you’re new to hats and not ready to commit to a bespoke process.

Borsalino also offers many different colors of hats, including things as wild as electric blue, maroon, or white for the more fashion-forward, should this be a desire of yours. Still, vintage Borsalino will offer the highest degree of quality from the brand.

However, keep in mind that men of the past did have slightly smaller heads overall, so vintage hats you can find today will typically be in sizes of 7 ¼ and smaller. While our heads have gotten bigger these days, it’s debatable whether or not we’ve actually gotten any smarter.

Ultimately then, answering whether a Borsalino hat is worth it comes down to your own personal criteria.

If money is no object for you and you don’t mind paying full price, what you’ll be getting is indeed a quality product. But, at the same time, as we already mentioned, you could spend a comparable amount on a custom hat if you know where to look.

And if the sticker price of these Borsalino hats is too high for you – and for me personally, it certainly is – then you may want to look for vintage hats instead. And, indeed, the slightly higher construction quality of vintage hats may be of interest to you as well.

For instance, the hats in my own personal collection (most of which are Dobbs brand, if you’re curious) have served me well for years already, have mostly minimal wear and tear, and cost me under $50 each. So, whatever route you choose, just be sure to pace yourself and consider all your options, taking in mind the advice we laid out here.

Outfit Rundown

I’m wearing a relatively subtle monochromatic look in greyscale based around my Borsalino hat. Again, the one I’m wearing is the Francesco fur felt fedora in charcoal gray. To harmonize with the color of the hat, I’m wearing a charcoal gray suit. This time in a two-piece configuration, although, it is originally a three-piece, which features a very subtle bit of texture and pattern to its weave.

I’m also wearing a plain white dress shirt with French cuffs, into which, I’ve got our platinum-plated sterling silver monkeys fist knot cufflinks from Fort Belvedere inserted. Other Fort Belvedere accessories include my boutonniere, which is a prototype design in white; my pocket square, which is in gray flannel and features a hand-rolled white x-stitch; and my Prince of Wales patterned tie in black and white. Also from Fort Belvedere are my socks, which are in charcoal gray and feature clock patterns in light grey and black.

I’m wearing these to harmonize with my suit, as well as with my shoes, which are cap-toed black Oxfords from Carmina. Aside from the prototype boutonniere, you can find all of the Fort Belvedere accessories I’m wearing in today’s video, as well as a wide array of other classic men’s accessories, in the Fort Belvedere shop.

Would you invest in a Borsalino fedora yourself? We’d like to know your thoughts, too! Please share them in the comments!