Your first indy hat, a nostalgic look back....

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Thu May 28, 2009 11:38 am

Most of us did not have the benefit of SA, at the time, but we gave it our best guess and found a close enough, of what was available at the time, so I thought it would be fun to take a look back and revisit yesteryear, those glorious adventures of old. Post your photos of your first indy hat if you got 'em!

Indiana Leon · Post by **Indiana Leon** » Thu May 28, 2009 11:44 am

Here's a pic of my old Mayser. My new Adventurer looks much more SA.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Thu May 28, 2009 11:59 am

My first hat looked alot like the Mayser you posted. I was going to a halloween party one year and went to a discount store to find a fedora looking hat. Next, I went to the shop and covered the hat with lots of spider webs found in the corners of the rafters. With some old work clothes which had been slapped around on the ground, my green and gray Mexican whip, a close enough jacket, and a BB pistol, it was quite a site.

Travelsonic · Post by **Travelsonic** » Thu May 28, 2009 12:16 pm

My first hat was a DP - which now, sadly(?) has shrunken and fallen apart. Last summer I re-shaped it and it looked MUCH better for a wool hat than it did off the shelf.

Now I have a Peters Bros. custom fedora - Temple of Doom - and am looking at an Adventurebilt "Henry"

Canyon · Post by **Canyon** » Thu May 28, 2009 2:45 pm

My first Indy fedora I bought was an Akubra about six years ago which I still have.

Here are some pics when the hat was new...

http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20001.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20002.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20003.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20004.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20005.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20006.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20007.jpg
http://members.lycos.co.uk/canyon1899/h ... %20008.jpg

Zendragon · Post by **Zendragon** » Thu May 28, 2009 2:47 pm

My first fedora was a DP, I think I still have it somewhere. Not sure if I have a photo though.

Since then I have acquired various Feds, Keppler's and an AB.

agent5 · Post by **agent5** » Thu May 28, 2009 2:47 pm

Passed down from my Gramps. Halloween 1981.

cowboy827 · Post by **cowboy827** » Thu May 28, 2009 2:50 pm

My first fedora was a wool hat that I bought at Burlington Coat Factory about 20 years ago. It cost me $11.00. Shrank up something awful, but was still a fun hat. So much so that it was stolen.

My next fedora was an officially licensed wool Indy hat. It was a gift from my brother, purchased sometime after the first hat was stolen. I wore it on-and-off for years.

From there, I went into a Stetson Temple, which I've since given to my father. Tapered way too much for my taste.

Then I bought an original Akubra Fed Dlx, which I still own. It's a great hat, but I haven't even pulled it out of the box since getting my AB Henry a few months ago.

I also have an Akubra Fed IV in carbon gray that I wear with navy, black or gray suits.

cowboy827 · Post by **cowboy827** » Thu May 28, 2009 2:52 pm

I did post a photo of my son wearing my Fed Dlx in the Henry Owners discussion thread. I guess it's now his first fedora.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Thu May 28, 2009 3:54 pm

Great pics and stories, folks!

backstagejack · Post by **backstagejack** » Thu May 28, 2009 4:16 pm

I don't have a pic I don't think.....but my first hat was some canvas affair bought from JC Penny's. I begged my mom telling her it was just like Indy's hat so she let me buy it.

I found it a few years back and its....green...with a 2 inch brim and a brown leather band....and of course doesn't look anything like it. I remember wearing it with a jean jacket and looping a long piece of rope through my left belt loop in order to have a "whip". Then I'd strap our camera bag on my shoulder and go out hiking.....*sigh* thank god for Indygear.....

Indy35 · Post by **Indy35** » Thu May 28, 2009 7:49 pm

My first lid was a DP, and i still have it and its still wearable. It was a little tight when i bought it, so i stretched it and wore it kind of loose and reshaped it like a TOD to make it pass. I plan to pass it on one day. About a month after i bought my DP, i managed to get ahold of a "used" raiders PB from a guy who had worn it four times and put it in his closet for three years. It fits my head like a glove, but the ribbon needs work after my abuse of it. I love it to death, its tough as nails, and as stiff as one too.

After these i purchased the Fed IV and the Henry, so i may not have run the gamut like some, but the end result is all that matters. I love my Henry.

Canyon · Post by **Canyon** » Thu May 28, 2009 8:41 pm

Awww, Agent5, don't you just look adorable there!

*pinches cheek*

jacksdad · Post by **jacksdad** » Thu May 28, 2009 8:51 pm

my first Indy hat was a real black fedora my grandpa had but sadly and this is true my dog ate it. My second hat was a 12.00 wal-mart hat,then a fed from a memeber here then and my current and last hat a CS from John Penman.

Mississippi Jones · Post by **Mississippi Jones** » Fri May 29, 2009 12:04 pm

My first Indy hat came from the Disney Land ride. I was about 10, I believe. My mom picked it up for me when she went to California.

DR Ulloa · Post by **DR Ulloa** » Fri May 29, 2009 12:06 pm

My parents bought me a DP at Disney World when I was about six years old. I've given it to my brother, who wears it a lot. It's still hanging in there.

Dave

Solent MKIII · Post by **Solent MKIII** » Fri May 29, 2009 7:03 pm

High school camp, 1984 - gotta love those 80's hairstyles!

I think this is the only picture I have of my first Indy hat. Picked it up from Sears back in the day. It looked right ( heck, it was brown ), and me and my buddies were still riding the TOD wave and I wanted that hat! I think it had a bound brim, too - can't remember who made it , though.

Tron7960 · Post by **Tron7960** » Fri May 29, 2009 8:48 pm

More Freddy Kruger than Indy

1989

alphared6 · Post by **alphared6** » Fri May 29, 2009 8:56 pm

I've been wearing fedoras since the early 70's. The oldest pictures I could find is the the one you see here. This was taken in perhaps 1984 or 5 in Berchdesgarten Germany on the back nine of a mountain golf course, that's right ... in the mountains! Behind me is the Kehlstein.

Just took a look and LO & BEHOLD, I still have that old fedora!
The old, unknown maker is on the left, my Fed IV is on the right ... that's my dog in the middle, he seldom wears hats.

As you can see I wore the old hat so much the ribbon faded!

Mike

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Fri May 29, 2009 9:28 pm

Awesome pics and stories, guys and gals. Keep them coming!

Risu · Post by **Risu** » Sat May 30, 2009 4:10 am

My first hat was from Disneyland. I gave it to my ex cuz she looked good in it and it hadn't fit me since I was 10. We all know what they look like though.

Hollowpond · Post by **Hollowpond** » Sat May 30, 2009 8:26 am

I'll have to see if I can find pics but my first hat was a black stingy brim fedora with some sort of woven brown hat band. I know, I know super SA

. But considering my first Indy costume consisted of tennis shoes, khaki pants, a white shirt, that hat, a grey Members Only jacket, a leather tool bag for my shoulder bag, and a jump rope with the handle removed on one end for a whip, SA was not a concern.

Travis

Greatdane · Post by **Greatdane** » Sat May 30, 2009 11:55 am

I got this hat from my dad, who was a hunter at the time, when I was a kid, must have been about 9-10 years ago.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_CK6nRmYrgCY/SiFVL ... G_0001.jpg

Technically, it still is my primary Indy hat, but just wait until my AB arrives

jacksparrow900 · Post by **jacksparrow900** » Sat May 30, 2009 8:04 pm

my first indy hat was a dp that i bought at disney world it was much better at the time than the fedora i bought at a costume place that was hard as rock. I don't even have my dp anymore i really abused it to the point of tapering so much. Now so many years later and thinking of purchasing another magnoli herbert johnson.

sithspawn · Post by **sithspawn** » Sun May 31, 2009 10:03 am

My first Indy hat was an old vintage 30's -40's fedora. Bought it in September of 81 from a vintage clothes store called Greystone Gardens. When I wore it out I replaced it with a TOD Stetson in 84.

Post by **Michaelson** » Sun May 31, 2009 4:32 pm

Solent MKIII wrote:- can't remember who made it , though.

If it came from Sears, it was made by Bailey.

Regards! Michaelson

jts1031 · Post by **jts1031** » Sun May 31, 2009 4:43 pm

My first was the Stetson Indy hat that came out around the time of Temple of Doom, in a youth model. I was on top of the world with that hat. It had an Indiana Jones pin and everything. Couldn't get more official than that.

morethanatimelord · Post by **morethanatimelord** » Sun May 31, 2009 6:12 pm

Solent MKIII wrote:High school camp, 1984 - gotta love those 80's hairstyles!

I think this is the only picture I have of my first Indy hat. Picked it up from Sears back in the day. It looked right ( heck, it was brown ), and me and my buddies were still riding the TOD wave and I wanted that hat! I think it had a bound brim, too - can't remember who made it , though.

Please dont take this the wrong way but this pic reminds me of Camp Crystal lake

your all about to be slain by Jason any minute

viper80134 · Post by **viper80134** » Sun May 31, 2009 10:52 pm

It took some digging and going to my mom’s house to scan some pictures but here they are. I found enough to show how long I’ve been wearing an Indy fedora. I've all ways wanted his hat from the first time I saw the movies. My first hat

was when they first opened the Indiana Jones ride in Disneyland. And of course all the gift shops that now barred Indy were opened as well. So my first hat was a Disneyland hat which forgive me if I'm wrong is a Dorffman I think.

After that every year we went back I'd have to buy a new one because I would grow out of it and had to get a larger size for a while. Luckily my head stopped growing finally

.

Once I got older and had my own job I finally bought a PB and have been wearing it to this day.

Currently I wait patiently for my AB-Deluxe that will grace my door step one day.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Sun May 31, 2009 11:26 pm

Great timeline of pics. Is that a PB custom LC?

Fedora · Post by **Fedora** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 10:07 am

My first Indy fedora was made by Bee Line Hats, and was called the Indy 500. It was rabbit, and the most accurate looking hat I have ever owned from a factory. Trouble was, it was too sizes too large, and the last one on the shelf. And, it had been in the outdoor store for years, and they no longer could get them. I wish I had taken pics, but this was before Indy Fan, and I saw no reason to do so. I don't know what happened to it, but I can't find it in my collection that I have stored in a rental storage building.

This hat was the most accurate factory Raiders fedora that I ever owned, but was cheaply made, as I think it cost me around 40 bucks at the time in the late 80's. Being too large, and me being inexperienced, I most just stared at it as it sit on my mantle above my fireplace.

My first wearable Indy fedora was really bad. Not even close. It was made in Canada, and the name brand escapes me at the moment. I bought it from a catalog, and they featured the Bridge Hat from TOD as the selling photo. It looking nothing like it!!!

Crown height pre creases was 4 inches!! I could not bring myself to wear it much, but did wear it some until I bought a Stetson Nostalgia that was a big improvement. Fedora

Baldwyn · Post by **Baldwyn** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 2:26 pm

Here's my crushable, travel fedora that I bought because it was Indy-ish. Served me well, there's something about a hat that can be packed up in luggage.

Solent MKIII · Post by **Solent MKIII** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 5:11 pm

morethanatimelord wrote:Please dont take this the wrong way but this pic reminds me of Camp Crystal lake

your all about to be slain by Jason any minute

Come to think of it, we DID have a lake.......

jlee562 · Post by **jlee562** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 5:32 pm

My first Indy hat was a DP from Disneyland that I bought on a whim. Actually, I blame Crystal Skull for inflaming my Indy passion...anyways, so I bought the DP, wore it around for a while, and decided I wanted a real hat....that led me here, which led me to my Christy's, which I'm quite satisfied with.

matt black · Post by **matt black** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 5:50 pm

I got my first Indy hat when I was about 18. They were having a big clear out at the place that I worked at the time and in a pile of junk I spotted a Fedora. I asked the boss if they meant to throw it out and he said it was his and did'nt want it anymore so I was welcome to it. Not quite the same as having it placed onto your head by a treasure hunter that you will grow up to follow in his footsteps I know

. It was a Lock & Co.

viper80134 · Post by **viper80134** » Mon Jun 01, 2009 8:27 pm

Texan Scott wrote:Great timeline of pics. Is that a PB custom LC?

Thanks, I don't think I'll ever stop wearing fedoras so I'll have many more pics to add over the years. Yup that what I had them style it in. Though it was before PB offered a pure beaver felt.

Indycrazy5187 · Post by **Indycrazy5187** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 12:03 am

i don't have any pics but i used to take my uncle's blue straw hats (he had no felts) and wear it while running around the house while the movie played.

shagger999uk · Post by **shagger999uk** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 3:03 am

Here's mine, Jan 91:

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc20 ... /hat91.jpg

I've subsequently bought a couple of wool felt fedoras and have just ordered a Christy's Adventurer.

Edited to tidy up picture link!

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:24 am

shagger999uk wrote:Here's mine, Jan 91:

http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc20 ... =hat91.jpg

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc20 ... /hat91.jpg

I've subsequently bought a couple of wool felt fedoras and have just ordered a Christy's Adventurer.

I just cleaned up the links to the photos. Should work now. Thanks for posting!

Ranger36 · Post by **Ranger36** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 6:39 pm

Mine was a DP. Sadly, I still use it.

Darth Indiana · Post by **Darth Indiana** » Tue Jun 09, 2009 9:15 pm

my first Indy hat was a wool felt from Cabela's. I wore that thing all day every day for two years, rain or shine. It was with me through summer camp, camping, exploring the woods, everything. While I was at school it was in my backpack. If I was out of bed and that hat wasn't with me you could assume that i was either dead or being taken by the Black Sleep of Kali. it was MY hat. Sadly I lost this hat years ago, and have no idea where, it just seemed to disappear.

Texan Scott · Post by **Texan Scott** » Wed Jun 10, 2009 12:17 am

That's great! These hats may not have been 100% SA, but it was the spirit that counted!

Post by **Indiana Jeff** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 4:07 am

My LL Bean 100% wool fedora circa 1989 bought for $19.99 and has been serving me happily until my Penman arrived a few weeks ago.

And, no, I don't keep my hats on the lamps permanently, this was the most convenient way to do side by side shots.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Indiana Kev · Post by **Indiana Kev** » Sun Jun 28, 2009 12:43 pm

The first hat I got was a DP from Disneyworld. I wore that hat until it no longer fit me. Love that hat.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m94/ ... G_0983.jpg

Several DPs later I finally got my first AB when Steve offered the rabbit deal. The AB is great, but that first DP has a special place in my heart.

Now I have the rabbit and a CS AB and soon I'll be putting in an order for a Penman.
http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m94/ ... 010960.jpg

Lord_Clarence · Post by **Lord_Clarence** » Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:01 pm

jts1031 wrote:My first was the Stetson Indy hat that came out around the time of Temple of Doom, in a youth model. I was on top of the world with that hat. It had an Indiana Jones pin and everything. Couldn't get more official than that.

My first was this same hat, a gift from my uncle who collected hats. (Have pics kicking around somewhere, just not here at work.) I still have it, pin and all. It actually remains my most SA hat (it's not bad if you re-bash it), since I sold my Fed Deluxe that was too small.

To those who have had or still wear the DP crushable fedora--don't knock it! My DP outback hat is my go-to lid for adventure. It's durable, water-resistant, packable, and doesn't look half bad since the original band disintegrated and I put a custom ribbon on it.

jkdbuck76 · Post by **jkdbuck76** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 3:31 pm

My first was a Temple Stetson.

I slaved (I was 11) delivering papers, mowing, taking out the trash.
I even saved money I found in the water at the beach (always someone losing a few dollars or two here and there).

I sent off for it...... And after two lifetimes, it finally showed up. I ripped the box open and

was 110% disapointed!

It was too dark-brown. The ribbon was lighter than the hat! The brim was angled down (all 1" of it) and not flat at all. It was t3h sux0r as they say. There will big, ugly knots holding the ribbon on the hat.

My sister's friend said "that hat looks more like Indy's father's hat."

And I said to myself This is no indy hat!!!

But inside the hat, there was that white round Indy emblem... and the official Mucasfilm emblem assuring me that this, indeed, was THE OFFICIAL Indiana Jones hat.
HA! A blind tubeworm with a sewing machine and a drinking problem could have made a better hat!

I felt like little Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" when the secret code said "Drink more Oveltine". I was crushed. However, I made it through school with my v---ginity intact.

Years later, I tried to take a hat from WalMart and morph it into an Indy hat. The first attempt didn't look too bad (read my comment above about the tubeworm), but it tapered horribly. After a few months, It looked worse than the TOD hat up in the plane (we're not sinking! We're crashing!).

At the age of 31, I found this website and all about Hatsdirect. I've enjoyed my Feds and they look a lot better than the Temple Stetson did.

The moral of the story: don't give up until you find what you really really want! Oh....and don't by anything from Stetson.

BendingOak · Post by **BendingOak** » Sat Jul 04, 2009 3:41 pm

I can't remember what my first one was.

It might have been a stetson. I don't have a warm place for it. I was never happy with it from the start. That started my long search. Where have we heard that story before.

I have a warm spot for my first AB from Steve. It's the first hat I was happy with.

Ohio Jones · Post by **Ohio Jones** » Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:37 pm

Mine was an Indy hat from the Bowman Hat factory outside of Reading Pa...Reamstown actually. It was way to big...but I wore it for ever. I loved running around the woods with that on...and had a fascination with wearing it in the rain. I guess I like the sound of it hitting the brim.

My next was a DP about 4 years ago....I thought i was the bomb when i got this. The only time I could wear it with out getting harassed was on Halloween.

Three years later I found this site and boy oh boy was that DP about 4 timezones behind the quality of what was offered on here.

thecoolmiester · Post by **thecoolmiester** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 1:08 am

my first was a wool DP from a hat store in Vegas.
i wore it on Halloween.

darthbish · Post by **darthbish** » Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:27 am

morethanatimelord wrote:
Solent MKIII wrote:High school camp, 1984 - gotta love those 80's hairstyles!

I think this is the only picture I have of my first Indy hat. Picked it up from Sears back in the day. It looked right ( heck, it was brown ), and me and my buddies were still riding the TOD wave and I wanted that hat! I think it had a bound brim, too - can't remember who made it , though.
Please dont take this the wrong way but this pic reminds me of Camp Crystal lake

your all about to be slain by Jason any minute

All except the blonde that's front-n-centre.........she's too cute to be slain.
She can be the survivor that makes it into the sequel