Indy fedora and the cowboy connection
Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 1:25 pm
I realize that at first glance, there seems to be no connection, but consider this. From TLC we know that Indy spent some of his childhood in the West, surrounded by ranchers and cowboys. And of course they wore hats. We see him moving up from his Boy Scout hat, a Montana Pinch crease, to a shorter brimmed western style hat that morphs into a fedora by the way that Fedora placed it on his head, squeezing in the basic fedora crease as he does so. The scene fades into Indy wearing that same sort of hat. Now, with that is mind, read on to a few excerpts I have coped from a book that I have, Hats And the Cowboys Who Wear Them.
COWBOY'S HISTORY OF THE HAT
Hats have been worn for one of two reasons: either to impress somebody with who you are, or to help you in your work. The first hats seem to have been worn by tribal chiefs to let everybody know they were the boss. Then the spirit guides got into the act to let everybody know they were in touch with the Big Boss in the Sky.
But when man and women began to work with the land, they needed something to protect their heads from the elements. It didn't matter what the hat looked like or who it impressed-which was probably nobody. What mattered was how it worked. And people probably started to have competitions to create the best hats: the biggest, the most artistic, best use of natural resources-the usual kind of contests. And maybe people became more impressed with the hat as a status symbol than as useful for clothing.
As time went by and people got fed up with high-hatting, non-working nincompoops, things did a 180, and the only hats that folks continued to wear were the ones that worked. And of all the hats that work, the one that works the best is the cowboy hat:
It gives your neck and face shade from the sun.
It keeps your head dry when it rains, sleets, snows, or hails.
You can use it to fan a campfire to life, whip a fightin' cow away, or
swat a bronc on the neck.
You can use it for a pillow.
You can use the crown to carry water for your horse and the brim as a
cup to water yourself.
It protects you from low-lying branches.
You can use it to signal somebody from far away.
Tossing it in the air tells the world you happy.
No only does it work for you, you look good in it.
This book is filled with laconic and hilarious thoughts and what the book basically does is to define the different styles of hats with a commentary on the sort of guy that wears one. Here are a couple of examples.
OPEN CROWN HAT
There are no creases anywhere on this hat. Could be this hombre thinks he looks good enough that his hat don't matter. On the other hand, he might just like to keep things simple. Or on the third hand, it might be that he's never bothered to give his, or his hat's, looks any thought whatsoever. Whichever one it is, he'll tend to be pretty spare in his thinking. He won't give a lot of thought to frills, creature comforts, or comfortable creatures.
Aussie Bush Hat
The only reason cowboys "down under" wear this floppy wonder is because nobody name John B. Stetson ever emigratated down there. The bloke who wears this hat tends to have a reckless outlook on life. It's a wild 'n' woolly work hat, not meant to be a fashion statement, though that don't stop a lot of folks from wearin' it anyway. The wearer favors Jeeps over pickups, knives over guns, and perfers a cold beer to chardonnay any day, mate.
Flat-Top Brim
A flat -topped hat with a flat brim takes itself very seriously and so does the joker who wears it. He measures his words and weighs yours very carefully. Best not to joke around this fella; his idea of fun probably ain't yours. In other words, he won't get it and you might. He tends to be a loner and generally misunderstood-this is mainly 'cause he don't bother to explain himself very much. He won't dance 'cause he don't like crowds. The woman who wears this hat won't like to be crowded either, but that don't mean she won't dance.
And here is my favorite one!
Cutout
To make a cutout, the hatter cuts the design out of the crown of the hat and then glues or stiitches a piece of dyed leather on the inside of the hat to cover up the hole. (Sounds like a lot of extra work to me) Sometimes he or she will also weave a piece of leather around the outside of the brim that matches one of the cutouts. All this is done strictly for looks, and the fella who wears one of these unique toppers is obviously looking to stand out in a crowd. He figures if folks notice his hat, they'll notice him. If the hat doesn't work by itself, he's likely to start singing or playing a musical instrument. If this fails to get their attention, he'll start telling jokes or doing old Stan Freberg routines- or even tossin' out quotes from books like Don't Squat With Yer Spurs On! If after all this, he still is being ignored, he'll throw himself on the floor and roll around imitatin' varmint dances. Not a pretty or polite thing to see. I recommend you notice his hat to start with and avoid all the rest of his disgustin' display.
Also in the book are several facts listed about beaver hats, and stuff like this:
Hat-ism
Hat in Hand- This one's as plain as a new saloon in a church district. Your hat is worn on your head, the seat of who you are. It is your most prideful adornment. You only take it off to show respect or if you feel humble before some, and not many hombres who wear a cowboy hat feel all that humble. It's always been this way.
I like this author. I have some more of this stuff if anyone want me to post it. But, I am a very slow typer, so speak only if you are really intereted in this.
Oh, here a couple of facts in the book that I was not aware of.
Old hats weigh less than new ones.
Beaver fur is lighter in weight than other furs. So the more beaver fur in a blend, the lighter the hat. Fedora
COWBOY'S HISTORY OF THE HAT
Hats have been worn for one of two reasons: either to impress somebody with who you are, or to help you in your work. The first hats seem to have been worn by tribal chiefs to let everybody know they were the boss. Then the spirit guides got into the act to let everybody know they were in touch with the Big Boss in the Sky.
But when man and women began to work with the land, they needed something to protect their heads from the elements. It didn't matter what the hat looked like or who it impressed-which was probably nobody. What mattered was how it worked. And people probably started to have competitions to create the best hats: the biggest, the most artistic, best use of natural resources-the usual kind of contests. And maybe people became more impressed with the hat as a status symbol than as useful for clothing.
As time went by and people got fed up with high-hatting, non-working nincompoops, things did a 180, and the only hats that folks continued to wear were the ones that worked. And of all the hats that work, the one that works the best is the cowboy hat:
It gives your neck and face shade from the sun.
It keeps your head dry when it rains, sleets, snows, or hails.
You can use it to fan a campfire to life, whip a fightin' cow away, or
swat a bronc on the neck.
You can use it for a pillow.
You can use the crown to carry water for your horse and the brim as a
cup to water yourself.
It protects you from low-lying branches.
You can use it to signal somebody from far away.
Tossing it in the air tells the world you happy.
No only does it work for you, you look good in it.
This book is filled with laconic and hilarious thoughts and what the book basically does is to define the different styles of hats with a commentary on the sort of guy that wears one. Here are a couple of examples.
OPEN CROWN HAT
There are no creases anywhere on this hat. Could be this hombre thinks he looks good enough that his hat don't matter. On the other hand, he might just like to keep things simple. Or on the third hand, it might be that he's never bothered to give his, or his hat's, looks any thought whatsoever. Whichever one it is, he'll tend to be pretty spare in his thinking. He won't give a lot of thought to frills, creature comforts, or comfortable creatures.
Aussie Bush Hat
The only reason cowboys "down under" wear this floppy wonder is because nobody name John B. Stetson ever emigratated down there. The bloke who wears this hat tends to have a reckless outlook on life. It's a wild 'n' woolly work hat, not meant to be a fashion statement, though that don't stop a lot of folks from wearin' it anyway. The wearer favors Jeeps over pickups, knives over guns, and perfers a cold beer to chardonnay any day, mate.
Flat-Top Brim
A flat -topped hat with a flat brim takes itself very seriously and so does the joker who wears it. He measures his words and weighs yours very carefully. Best not to joke around this fella; his idea of fun probably ain't yours. In other words, he won't get it and you might. He tends to be a loner and generally misunderstood-this is mainly 'cause he don't bother to explain himself very much. He won't dance 'cause he don't like crowds. The woman who wears this hat won't like to be crowded either, but that don't mean she won't dance.
And here is my favorite one!
Cutout
To make a cutout, the hatter cuts the design out of the crown of the hat and then glues or stiitches a piece of dyed leather on the inside of the hat to cover up the hole. (Sounds like a lot of extra work to me) Sometimes he or she will also weave a piece of leather around the outside of the brim that matches one of the cutouts. All this is done strictly for looks, and the fella who wears one of these unique toppers is obviously looking to stand out in a crowd. He figures if folks notice his hat, they'll notice him. If the hat doesn't work by itself, he's likely to start singing or playing a musical instrument. If this fails to get their attention, he'll start telling jokes or doing old Stan Freberg routines- or even tossin' out quotes from books like Don't Squat With Yer Spurs On! If after all this, he still is being ignored, he'll throw himself on the floor and roll around imitatin' varmint dances. Not a pretty or polite thing to see. I recommend you notice his hat to start with and avoid all the rest of his disgustin' display.
Also in the book are several facts listed about beaver hats, and stuff like this:
Hat-ism
Hat in Hand- This one's as plain as a new saloon in a church district. Your hat is worn on your head, the seat of who you are. It is your most prideful adornment. You only take it off to show respect or if you feel humble before some, and not many hombres who wear a cowboy hat feel all that humble. It's always been this way.
I like this author. I have some more of this stuff if anyone want me to post it. But, I am a very slow typer, so speak only if you are really intereted in this. Oh, here a couple of facts in the book that I was not aware of.
Old hats weigh less than new ones.
Beaver fur is lighter in weight than other furs. So the more beaver fur in a blend, the lighter the hat. Fedora
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