Club Obi Wan

Here's a weird thing: according to the David Morgan site's FAQ page re: the Indy, "Akubra has not made a copy of this hat..."

Then what the heck are the Federation and Federation Deluxe models I've been reading so much about? Did the DM site not mention these because HatsDirect sells them exclusively -- and they're the competition?

Or is it because Akubra is not an official license holder (although theirs are a LOT more screen-accurate than the Lucas-approved ones)?

PS if this was brought up before I couldn't find it under the Search engine.

http://www.davidmorgan.com/hatfaqs.html ... =14662#q14

I'd venture to guess it's because the Feds come UNBASHED. They are not a copy or replica Indiana Jones hat, they are the Federation and Ferderation Deluxe. They are just fedoras, nothing to do with Indiana Jones (as far as Akubra is concerned). Never-the-less, they ARE one of the best hats to use to make an Indy hat, since, well, Indy wore a fedora!


have a nice day.

Good point!

The photos on the HatsDirect site are deceiving (although they clearly state that they sell them open-crowned only), but I guess that's just good salesmanship.

Michaelson and Fedora had a lot of input in the developement of the Federation with Ron at Hat's Direct. I remember e-mailing Ron about getting a Campdraft with the idea of making an Indy hat. He e-mailed back that I should wait because another hat was in the works. This was almost four years ago I think. The Fed makes an excellent Indy hat.

I think part of it is that Akubra does not make an "Indy hat". They make the Federation that is the best for making an Indy hat. But they don't bash it for you. It probably has something to do with licensing and rights. Another reason is probably because DM looses alot of bussines to the internet because Morgans prices are so much higher than the Australian sellers so DM does not want to even mention that you can buy a Fed. and make it into an Indy hat. Morgan does have such great service and if you go to the store they wait on you hand and foot. Just like an old time gentelmans store.

Mr. Morgan has not updated his Akubra information in his catalog for literally years and years. They have a limited number of offerings, as Akubra is quite conservative as to whom they allow sell their hats. HatsDirect is located in Australia, and is the worlds largest supplier of Akubra hats, so they have ALL the different types and styles available, as well as have the 'ear' of the Akubra family (one of the few companies still owned and operated by the same family who opened the company in the 1800's!) It was due to Ron's efforts and work with a few of us fans that the Federation line was made available to us by Akubra. It was never really referred to as an 'Indy' fedora, as they did not want to get into problems with Lucasfilm, nor did they want to paint themselves into a corner by having it appear the hat was intended only for us Indy fans. There were a lot of folks into Swing dance that were also on the hunt for a good fedora, so the Fed line was created to cover a multitude of bases.

It was named after the Centennial of the Australian Federation, and therefore is considered more of an Aussie offering through internet sales...therefore neither the Fed OR Fed Deluxe appears in U.S. catalogs.

Hope this made some kind of sense.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Mr. Morgan has not updated his Akubra information in his catalog for literally years and years. They have a limited number of offerings, as Akubra is quite conservative as to whom they allow sell their hats. HatsDirect is located in Australia, and is the worlds largest supplier of Akubra hats, so they have ALL the different types and styles available, as well as have the 'ear' of the Akubra family (one of the few companies still owned and operated by the same family who opened the company in the 1800's!) It was due to Ron's efforts and work with a few of us fans that the Federation line was made available to us by Akubra. It was never really referred to as an 'Indy' fedora, as they did not want to get into problems with Lucasfilm, nor did they want to paint themselves into a corner by having it appear the hat was intended only for us Indy fans. There were a lot of folks into Swing dance that were also on the hunt for a good fedora, so the Fed line was created to cover a multitude of bases.

It was named after the Centennial of the Australian Federation, and therefore is considered more of an Aussie offering through internet sales...therefore neither the Fed OR Fed Deluxe appears in U.S. catalogs.

Hope this made some kind of sense.

Regards! Michaelson

Knower of things indeed. Interesting.

...only because I was in the middle of that one myself.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:

Hope this made some kind of sense.

How could it not? Thanks for the explanation; you really DO know stuff!

Thank you, Doh! Sometimes I type a long post like that, then read it later and wonder 'what in the heck were you thinking when you typed THAT drivel!!!???'

Glad this one was clear.

Regards! Michaelson

The federation is just one of many pre-war hats made by akubra, though likely called by another name. Akubra made a myriad of high crowned hats in the 20's and 30's. One of my most treasured pieces of footage is a few moments in colour of aussie ww1 vets, most in civvies marching in the anzac day march in 1936, showing some beautiful hats in style and colours that have sadly not been around since after the war, those not in civvies of course wore the slouch hat, many with lighthorse plumes of emu feathers, no sign of pomp or arrogance, these blokes reeked of sheer resilliance...... ah what an era, cheers chauvel.

Uh, no. You're thinking of the 'Fedora' they have reintroduced, which WAS one of their pre-WW2 hats they discontinued in the late 50's, then reintroduced again about 2 years ago. I know, as I received one of the first ones off the line for review.

The Federation line was created brand new using the original committee of Fedora, _, and myself, who worked with Ron to give him the requirements that (at the time) we wanted to see as an Indy hat. There were 2 iterations from Akubra to create the hat. The first Fed that came out had a more tapered crown, a narrower ribbon, and a non-dimensionally cut brim. It also wasn't the color it is now. It was based on a now discontinued featherweight Bushman in fawn color that I loaned to Ron to spec from that Fedora had created for me, using his and _'s experimental measurements, designs and block. The design work, emails back and forth, and final hat took about 8 months. At that time, the original had the taller crown created, a wider ribbon with bow correction (per Fedora), and a non-dimensionally cut brim.

A year later the Fed Deluxe came into being when Ron contacted me and asked what I thought about Akubra making the Fed in the highest end felt they had, but make the hat a dimensionally cut brim. After several emails back and forth, Akubra created a prototype, which arrived one week AFTER the QM summit (dang it), but that one was reviewed by a committee of 4...Fedora, MK, IndyDawg, and myself. I don't recall if _ got his hands on it for review... I just don't remember. Anywho, the Deluxe was offered for production, and the brim cut was incorporated into the standard Fed as well.

So, the Fed line came about from heavy participation with members of THIS forum, and the wonderful cooperation of HatsDirect and the Akubra, who were willing to create something that served our purpose (at that time), and yet reflected a style that folks who were into vintage clothing and the swing dancing craze that was then sweeping the globe. Neither the Fed OR the Deluxe were reproductions of previous Akubra hats or hat designs.

Sorry for all the long winded post, but we worked to long and hard to just allow it to believed that Akubra just reintroduced one of their old pre-war hats for us to use.

Regards! Michaelson

Man, I should buy one out of sheer guilt!

(And frankly, I'm having trouble finding something similar in Los Angeles of all places. I started a thread awhile back and got a couple of good places to search, but no luck yet. I might do something a tad sneaky and get my head measured at a store here and then order an Akubra on the sly. Shhh...)