Back when I wore a brimmed dress hat, I like Borsalino. The better ones were well made. There was an old gentleman in Jerusalem whose family had been a long time in the business, and took real personal care of the customer. But the Borsalinos all came stock-in-the-box.
My favorite to this day is a Bailey XXXX Beaver fur cowboy type with a medium width brim. When I lived in Houston, I used to just go The Hat Shop, and they would take a raw hat, cut the brim to fit, and steam block the hat to desired shape while I waited. That is the only way to buy a hat in my opinion. Once you've bought a proper hat that way, you'll never look back.
Keep in mind that a high quality (multiple Xs) beaver felt hat is expensive. But it is a long term investment, and durable. Unlike many of the fancy but delicate 'dress hats'; I've worn mine in every weather. It can be cleaned and re-blocked. (I have two felt and two straw, actually.) Even with regular wearing, a really good quality hat will last many years, so the expense isn't really bad when seen that way.
