According to the Genoa Chamber of Commerce, Dita Baratelli dates to 1903 and is described as a sole proprietorship and lists its historical activity as: "umbrellas, furs and leather." Based on my parsing of the notations inside the hat, it seems like Borsalino probably made the hats for Dita Baratelli -- kind of like a private label situation (especially since "Fabbrica Capelli" translates from Italian as "hat factory").
Loaned to the Project by summer Food section intern Isabella Alsobrook on her last day in the Baja Features cube farm where she had the dubious honor of sitting cube-adjacent to this mad hatter (more deserving of hazard pay than academic credit if you ask me).
Alsobrook tells me the hat belongs to her mother. "But I borrow it when I want to look particularly dapper," she says. Mission accomplished -- this hat is so next-level gangster chic it could make Mr. Potato Head look like John "the Dapper Don" Gotti.
So we bid farewell and offer a tip o' the hat to Alsobrook who leaves the cube farm hopefully having a little better idea whether or not she'll ever want to slide one of those cards with the word "PRESS" printed on it into this hat's grosgrain headband.
Related:
PC 64: Peripatetic Parasol
PC 44: John Deere Letter
PC 24: Croc of the Walk
No comments:
Post a Comment