Club Obi Wan

Well, after finally learning that Indy's fedora wasn't the teardrop style
(Curse you Kenner Toys... ) I decided to rebash my fedora.

Mine is one I picked up at the California Disney back around 1985-86.
Made by the "Golden Gate Hat Company of Los Angeles."

I tried redoing it by hand, but as it was stiffer than a board, it would pop
back into its original shape if looked at wrong.

So, I put some boiling water on the stove, put the lid on to give me a
good jet of steam, and ended up with what I have now. It's more
accurate than it was, but still not 100%.





There's some obvious distortion at the back from the original bash, and
the hat doesn't stick "up" as high as I think it should, but it works until
I can someday replace it.

Russ

Dude, forget the hat!! Who's the blonde bombshell on the bike in that picture??

That is a cool hat, though!!

LOL, I was wondering if anyone was going to say something. She's on the 2007 "Hot Rides" calendar.

Hahaha, rad!!

Is the hat made of wool??

No idea on the construction. There's no labels or anything inside other than the maker, and size.

Russ

hmmm... You want me to call these guys to solve the mystery?

too funny! Who knew it after all these years all you needed to figure the raiders hat would be a couple of Scooby snacks! :idea:

Rook wrote:No idea on the construction. There's no labels or anything inside other than the maker, and size.
Russ

After finding this, and noting the types of hats currently marketed under that label, my assumption is "wool."

Sincerely,

"The Golden Gate Hat Company was founded in Los Angeles in 1923, 14 years before the Golden Gate Bridge was built in San Francisco. When William Katz founded Golden Gate, the Hollywood film industy was on the verge of exploding as both an industry and even more importantly, as the major influence on American popular culture. Mr. Katz made important early contacts with Hollywood costume designers and ever since GG headwear has been widely used in motion pictures and television. From Michael Jackson to Madonna to Britney Spears; from Robert Redford in "The Natural" to Dan Ackroyd in "Blues Brothers" to Leonardo DeCaprio in "Titanic", televison epics "Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance", and countless feature films like "Wild Wild West"; Golden Gate Hats have been filmed for decades. The grandchildren and great-grandchildren of William Katz still own and operate Golden Gate Hat Company and are proud to display the "Made In America" label in their hats shipped around the world."

my assumption is "wool."

My assumption aswell.

Looks like it might be a dorfman pacific.

I didn't know wool hats responded to steam like that, and that you could shape them. I thought they just shrunk into little balls of fluff that fall down the back of the sofa.

So can I use steam on an old wool hat I have, then? Will it work? I don't care if it shrinks cos its my lazy hat anyway, so it's miles too big.

Forget the mystery of the Raiders hat, what we really need to get the gang to investigate is just HOW a Disney fedora (wool, no less) survived for two decades!

that's easy I've got one that's at least 17 years old. It fit when I bought it at disney. But after sweating in it at the park it didn't fit anymore So into the closet it went. I never threw it away since I got the first time me and the wife (then girlfriend) went to disney together. Also pre internet didn't even consider I could find a real fedora. Anyway I took it out a month or so ago. (Dermatoligist said need to start wearing sunscreen or hats to avoid skin cancer) lo and behold iit was so tight it gave me an instant headache, also very hot.

IndyFan89 wrote:Looks like it might be a dorfman pacific.

Mine is one I picked up at the California Disney back around 1985-86.
Made by the "Golden Gate Hat Company of Los Angeles."

SHEESH

Castor Dioscuri wrote:Forget the mystery of the Raiders hat, what we really need to get the gang to investigate is just HOW a Disney fedora (wool, no less) survived for two decades!

Heh. I've worn it in the sun, rain, snow, you name it. When I do wear it, as I have since the 80s, I normally wear it as my "rain hat."

The hat brim is folded over and stitched, so it's not as floppy as a regular fedora can be. In fact, it's pretty stiff. I could probably knock out Nazis with the hat alone!

Russ