Dictionary

Borsalino is the oldest Italian company specializing in the manufacture of luxury hats. Since 1857, the manufacture has been based in Alessandria, Piedmont. The founder, Giuseppe Borsalino, is remembered for creating a particular model of a felt hat that has come to be known as a “borsalino”. Most often by ‘Borsalino’ people mean a fedora hat: a soft felt hat with a silk ribbon on a crown and three dents.

The borsalino hat in the 1920s and 30s became an indispensable accessory to the tops of the Italian and French mafia. Famous American gangster Al Capone, when being arrested in Chicago, even refused to take it off when the police has been taking a photograph of him for the criminal records.

The brand’s iconic hats were worn by many celebrities.