rjman wrote:
quality is never going to be the way it was 30 years ago or longer.
Definitely not. You don't get this felt quality anymore, and if you do, prices reach a level only a few aficionados would pay. It was about two years ago when a big hat shop went into liquidation in Switzerland after the death of its owner. The almost 90-year old man had kept all unsold stock, and simply added new things throughout his life. I went there twice with a good friend - we walked away with about 100 hats of amazing quality. Fortunately, we don't wear the same size

The Borsalini we got were from the seventies, eighties and nineties; some stuff was from the sixties and even earlier. My friend got two English boaters from the twenties. Some unknown brands as well - and all the felt is just incredible.
rjman wrote:Have you seen the Delon/Belmondo films Borsalino and Borsalino et Cie?
Of course
rjman wrote:Lastly, while not a hat person, there is one good bespoke French hatter left, Pauline Brosset. Friends speak highly of her. She was trained by the late hatmaker from the old hatters Gelot.
Despite my Swiss liquidation shopping, Madame Brosset is on my list. Optimo in Chicago has great stuff - their beaver belly felt is extraordinary. And there is Szaszi in Vienna, run by Shmuel Shapira. Highly recommended
Cheers, David