Observations On My Collection And A Question

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:47 am

I thought some may be interested in a few observations over the years that I have noticed on different fedoras and then I had a question. (This may be pretty boring but I see a lot of talk about the differences in styles, etc.)

#1, I bought my first "Indy" fedora in 1984 made by the Bollman Hat company and it was from the Designer Collection. This was the hat that was called the "Lost Ark". I liked it so much I bought a second that was a deeper brown. I think you guys have mentioned these hats, sometimes not very enthusiastically, but I still have them on my shelf and am amazed at how well they have held up for almost 20 years.

The next fedora I purchased was the dark, "official" Indy hat by Stetson with no liner and the ugly drawing and the official Indiana Jones Logo. I hated it and transferred the darker ribbon to the lighter "Lost Ark" since it seemed more accurate. (The origonal ribbon on the Bollman was a light brown that matched the hat itself). Anyway, I thought it looked a lot better. I look at it now and have no idea how I did such a good job considering I was in High School and there was no internet and I had no clue about hats and transferring ribbons.

Finally, I just bought, on a whim, the "Scala Crushable Fedora". I know a lot of people here feel this is not a great hat, however, I was really impressed by how soft it was and when I first put it on it was like "buttah". My wife and I both loved it, and a nice addition, although it is a rich brown and not completely accurate.

I am hoping to move my way up the ladder to a Federation, Herbert Johnson and Adventurebilt as the wallet allows over time.

Onto my question... I just purchased a "Stetson Sovereign Temple" and am awaiting it's arrival. I was curious to know what you guys think of this hat. Is this possibly the style used in the later movies? I thought that is what I read here. I think the ribbon is a bit larger than it should be, but is it really that noticeable? All in all, I was hoping that someone could let me know what their opinion is on this hat. Looks pretty nice, although a bit short as far as crown height. We shall see. Any info would be appreciated and love this site!

Thanks!

Michael

Post by **Michaelson** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:45 pm

I, too, used to own one of the 'Lost Ark' fedoras. Never let it get wet. It will taper something awful. You've chosen 'wisely' in keeping it on the shelf, as it IS a nice looking fedora, and deserves it's earned space in your 'Indy' collection.

As I recall, the incoming Stetson you have WAS based on the Temple of Doom styling, and was just a continuation of the 'Temple of Doom' offering they had in 84. When the Lucasfilm licensing expired, they renamed the hat the 'Temple', and the hat continues to this day in their catlog. You can find it offered still in the 'Stark and Leggum' hat catalog out of Virginia every year.

For a dress fedora, it's still a nice hat for the money, in my opinion.
It's not up to the 'nasty weather challenge' that many of our other hats can face, but like I said, as a dress hat, it does fine.

Regards! Michaelson

michaelb · Post by **michaelb** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 1:55 pm

Thank you for your response! Also, I got it the "Temple" for about $47, so not too bad considering it looks to be a $100 or so hat on different sites. I am still getting used to the terms, I assume taper means the all over shape, whearas the origonal had a more straight up and down look to the crown on the sides, if looking head on... So, yeah, they have tapered a bit. Is it just me, or does the "teardrop" bash, (am I using that term correctly as well?), look more classy than the usual center dent that it seems Indy's had? I remember getting into an argument with a friend of mine in 84 that my hat was incorrect.... Boy was I wrong.

Michael

Post by **Michaelson** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:20 pm

On the teardrop shape, it depends. (don't you hate that answer?

). If the crown isn't to tall, I think the teardrop not only looks better, but FEELS better on the head. If the crown is tall, though, it really doesn't work in my opinion, as the hat will tends to slide down on top of your ears more, and you have no 'adjustment' to depth like you do with a center dent. You just push the center dent in deeper to adjust the position of the hat on your head.

You got a GREAT deal on the Stetson, by the way. I believe Stark still sells them for around $120.

Regards! Michaelson

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 4:09 pm

Yeah, you got a good price on the Temple. Like the rest of the Stetson dress hat line, they use a finishing powder to get rid of the mottling that felt tends to exibit. Like Michaelson said, keep it dry. Otherwise you will have little hat colored rivulets of water running down your neck onto your collar. You might resemble a tobacco chewer spitting into the wind.

Regards, Fedora

Post by **Michaelson** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 6:32 pm

Yep. Been there, done that, and STILL hear the story told by the daughters at family get-togethers.

My rivulets of colored water ran down between my eyes, though.

Regards! Michaelson