An Indy-like Fedora...

[Louisiana Jones]

So I've been working on Martin Scorcese's "Boardwalk Empire", which will be a series on HBO about 1920's organized crime. Anyway, wardrobe gives me a few beat up vintage fedoras to try on and I pick a blue one as similar to Indy's as I can find. She says it needed a new ribbon so she let me pick a brown grosgrain from her pile of 'em and then the following week when I got to set I rebashed it Raiders-style in my trailer before my first shot was up. After the first few shots wardrobe realized I re-bashed the hat and wanted to change it, but since a few shots were already in the can they couldn't change it for continuity reasons. Here she is.. I wish they let me keep her!!





LJ

[DR Ulloa]

I like it. I really like the contrast between the blue and the brown. Nice touch.

Dave

[Strider]

Very cool! Reminds me of The Spirit ...

[Indycrazy5187]

when is the show airing? That sounds like something that I'd like to watch.

[RCSignals]

Interesting hat. How did they have it bashed initially?

I saw 'Public enemies' yesterday. One thing I noticed was many of the Fedoras appeared 'lifeless'. Most of what Johnny Depp wore did have some character though, probably because he understands hats.
That hat you have on there has some character. Wardrobe should thank you for giving it that

[thecoolmiester]

what does the liner say about that hat?
Who made it?
btw i like the brown ribbon on that color of blue.

[Louisiana Jones]

Coolmiester...Most of the wardrobe was vintage, so I'm figuring the fedora was pretty old. It didn't even have a sweatband or liner. And yes I thought the brown ribbon and blue hat looked sharp.

RC... they had a generic bash with a wide pinch and shallow dents (not sure what the 'dents' are called). Every fedora on set was bashed like that so I wanted to change mine up. I haven't seen Public Enemies but word is that Johnny Depp didn't get along with Michael Mann so he walked through the movie and didn't put his heart into it. I'll probably wait til it's on tv.

Indycrazy... I have no clue when the show will air. Filming of the pilot episode is wrapping up this week and they shoot remaining episodes through til next winter! Long schedule. It's about the rise of organized crime in Atlantic City (yet I believe they are only shooting in NY.. go figure). Look for me and my fedora in the pilot episode driving a Model T Ford and busting through the door of an old mansion.

LJ

[Louisiana Jones]

My AB has been at our cabin (upstate NY) for the past two months, so I haven't had my hands on it since then. When I had first got my AB, I had no previous experience with fedoras so I really had nothing to compare it to. Well after handling many vintage and vintage-style hats on "Boardwalk Empire" I finally got a chance to head upstate and when I grabbed my hat I was shocked at how thick and high quality the felt was. Seriously I couldn't believe it.. none of the fedoras I've been handling on set even come close to how great my AB feels.. I was impressed with the hat when I first got it, and now I'm even more impressed. Kudos AB.

LJ

[Fedora]

[quoteand when I grabbed my hat I was shocked at how thick and high quality the felt was. Seriously I couldn't believe it.. none of the fedoras I've been handling on set even come close to how great my AB feels.. I was impressed with the hat when I first got it, and now I'm even more impressed. Kudos AB.
][/quote]

Thank you sir. Nice compliment.

The thing about many vintage hats is this. They experienced fur shortages during the earlier ear of hatmaking. So, when shortages occurred,(generally due to a war, or fur coats and collars came into vogue) the "normal" thicker felts had to be thinned down, in order to be able to still produce the mass of hats that was needed for the folks, as most men wore hats in those days. Once the shortages abated, the public had gotten used to the thinner felts, and this became the standard from there on out. But at the same time, IF you had the money, the thicker felts could be had, for a price. And I have seen only two examples of this, in vintage hats.

So thinning down the felt bodies was NOT an esthetic decision, but an economical one. As most know, most vintage hats available on ebay consist of the lighter weight felts. And now you know the reason. This started out as way of maximizing the number of hats that could me made from a pound of fur, and then became the norm, once the folks got used to it. And today, many folks equate vintage hats with thin hats, but if you don't know the history of hatmaking, this is an easy assumption to make.

Durability is linked to the weight of the hat, just like anything else you buy. A pair of thicker canvas pants will last you a whole lot longer than a pair of twill Dockers. But you choose your thickness, by what the item is to be used for. Thin dress hats are fine for wearing with your suit. But not so fine, if you are going to the backwoods on an adventure. In the latter case, you want something that will keep your head dry for as long as possible, while still being as durable as a felt hat can be.

I remember a line from a book by Colin Fletcher, who hiked the Grand Canyon, as well as hiking the entire length of Ca. back in the 60's. He was about to cross Death Valley when an old desert rat advised him to always wear his hat. The rat then showed Colin a newspaper article, with a pic of a dead man, found in the desert. The desert rat's remark was....yeah, NO HAT!! So, Colin made sure he never lost his hat on that trip. He was obsessed with not doing so. Fedora

[Louisiana Jones]

Interesting stuff, Steve. Thanks. I actually almost got to wear my AB in "Boardwalk Empire".. wardrobe was having trouble finding me a fedora and I told them I had one based on 1930s style fedoras (whether that is accurate of the Indy hat I really don't know.. I just figured I'd say that since the movies take place then). I showed her a pic on my phone and she said the hat would be great. Then I remembered the hat was 4 hrs away and we shot the next day so I wouldn't be able to get it. Bummer! Would have been fun wearing it on the big screen.

LJ

[Mulceber]

Another reason why, as Fedora says, you should always keep your hat with you. -M