There's a broader issue at play here regarding the overall Indiana Jones costume across each subsequent film, which I'll probably write whole articles or make a video feature about at some point, but needless to say, the Raiders look from head to toe (whether you like individual versions of parts more in other films) was tighter (both conceptually and literally), better thought out, and more custom constructed overall. Everything was less relative and far more dialed in with precision. The whip was locked onto the belt at the side, the bag was worn higher and closer to the waist, the jacket was shorter and tighter, the holster was smaller and custom for Jones' unique 4" M1917, and then there was the hat...
I've read comments here that the Raiders hat (and specifically the SOC) is a "cosplay hat." That it's not appropriate for regular wear. Well, last time I checked - it started life as a Herbert Johnson Poet just like the other hats. Maybe some people don't have enough fedora confidence to wear such a hat out and about, maybe there's some insecurity at play. I dunno for sure. What I do know is that the Raiders hat is the most distinctive hat in the Indiana Jones series, and the SOC is the ultimate expression of that distinctiveness. However, at the end of the day, it simply carries a different character than the other Indy Poets out there in the world. That's all. But it's not a "cosplay hat." It's a dress fedora.
I've worn Indy hats my entire life, and the Raiders SOC/Airplane/Truck Chase (guys, can we just start calling it the Raiders "Tunisia" from now on???) is the first love. It has the look of both a finely-styled men's hat with the broad brim and soft felt to keep the desert sun out of an adventurer's eyes while allowing the wearer to grab it and slap it over his head at a moment's notice when life goes from tranquility to urgency. I knew the Raiders Tunisia before there was ever a second Jones film in existence. And here's my final major point about the "SOC" -- It's the one seen OUTSIDE IN THE WORLD in situations most of us envision ourselves in. (No, not shooting people with swords in the street.) I mean, when we travel for holiday to foreign countries, we do a lot of walking outside, and our family members are shopping in the markets, and there we are alongside them holding their purchases while soaking in the culture of wherever we've gone. And there's the Raiders "Tunisia" right there in those scenes.
The "SOC" is the default mode for many of us in the Indy community because when we envision ourselves traveling, our minds put us in a long shot from the camera, walking leisurely in a foreign market, laughing with our companion, and that's a hard image to shake, and we want to look bang-on to that when the opportunity arises. The Raiders "Tunisia" is a huge part of that "achievement unlocked." And let's not forget one more thing - it's the hat he's wearing during 85% of the most iconic moments in Raiders - the swordsman, the marketplace fight, the airplane fight, the truck chase. If Harrison Ford ran away with the character, that hat ran away with the identity of Indy's headwear.
Let's just look at these quick photoshops here - with the Raiders SOC on the left placed on Ford's head from Temple of Doom, and from Last Crusade, with his actual Grail Temple hat on the right...
![Image](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51730820454_28ca52f487_o.jpg)
![Image](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51729608148_5e08c1a586_z.jpg)
Tell me there isn't a small part of you seeing that image that isn't wistful that they'd kept a closer commitment to making sure his fedora kept a consistent character through the film series...
That's why the Tunisia fedora is such an icon, and a goal for so many, because it's not only a dynamic version of that very special hat from the original film that's never been revisited, but also because the further they've gotten away from it, the less and less regard they've put into the small but important details of Ford's outfit as time has gone on. It's presence is a lighting rod for everything that makes Indiana Jones so awesome, and its absence, while not fatal certainly, is felt by many. And so we seek to bring it back the only way we can - by bringing it into OUR lives and onto our own heads.
I'll end here. Pardon the amateurish photoshopping in places. I did my best to illustrate my point.
![Image](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51730384883_7737bbdaf4_z.jpg)