Club Obi Wan

Here's a hat story that some might find interesting:

Quite some time ago, I bought a Dorfman Pacific "official" Indy hat as a cheap option to top off my Indy outfit. I quickly realized that the hat was far from perfect, and needed some reworking to even be close to an Indy hat. I came up with this:

which I've posted on here before.

At the time, my wife commented that the hat acutally looked good on me. Eventually I compiled all my other Indy gear, and the only thing truly not authentic or close to SA was the hat, so I went ahead and bought a Fed IV, which is seen here:


However, I never told my wife that I bought a new hat. I just put the new hat where I usually kept the old one, and put the old one in the box and put it on the attic. She thinks it is the same hat, and sees no difference. The problem is, now when I wear it, she says it doesn't look good on me, that it is too tall, and that it is just a silly costume hat (because she thinks it is still the Dorfman).

I find this funny because all of us here on COW would definitely appreciate the difference between the hats, but my wife, who sees it all the time, doesn't notice that I changed hats, while at the same time unconsciously voicing her preference for the Dorfman.

I see what she's saying about the Fed IV being a little too tall. I agree. I don't know, maybe I'm just rambling, but I found this interesting that she didn't notice a difference.

Oh, and why didn't I tell her? Because if I spend one more penny on this hobby this year, I'm going to have to sleep in the car!

I was going to say just show her both hats but i wouldn't want to see you sleeping in your car.

When you think its safe, show her both hats and say "hey, I got a new hat!"

Dave

maboot38 wrote:I see what she's saying about the Fed IV being a little too tall. I agree.

With all due respect to you and your wife, I disagree. Not only is the Fed IV a better looking hat overall, I've seen the photos you posted in your "Criticize this Fedora bash" thread and, as I stated there, I think your Fed IV really suits you.

I think you've both simply gotten used to seeing your DP on your head and, even though your wife hasn't consciously figured out what's different, she is obviously aware something has changed because she thinks the hat that formerly "looked good" on you now looks "silly".

Of course, that's just my opinion; I could be wrong. ;-)

Hold up Zombie! I TOTALLY think that the Fed IV is a better hat. I just agree that it is pretty tall and takes some getting used to. In fact, I don't care if I never see the DP again. I love the Fed IV.

Now my better half, on the other hand, doesn't even know who Marion Ravenwood is, and has never seen an Indy movie. Unless it's a real life cop show like First 48 or some Dateline expose, she won't watch it.

So I take her Fedora criticisms with a grain of salt, but I do find it funny that the obvious choice for most of us is the one that she likes the least!

Then again, there is no accounting for taste, since she decided to marry me!

You are married! to someone who hasn't seen any of the Indy movies?! Wow. I made my girlfriend watch Raiders and Last Crusade before Crystal Skull came out, and I'll say she genuinely enjoyed them. We watched Temple of Doom later, which she did not like, but I don't hold it against her.

Obviously your fed IV is infinitely nicer, you should play a little game where you go in and out of the room she is in switching hats each time and see if she can figure it out.

As I like to tell my wife when she asks why I have so many Indy fedoras...'Subtle differences, my dear, subtle differences'...

As anyone who is married would agree, you have to pick your battles. Having her watch 4 action movies that she isn't interested in doesn't rank up there as highly as her not making me sell the Jeep because the baby seat won't fit in it or moving my TV to the basement because there isn't enough room for the crib!

Obviously your fed IV is infinitely nicer, you should play a little game where you go in and out of the room she is in switching hats each time and see if she can figure it out.

That is an awesome idea Mighty Draw! You have to try that maboot38! Oh to be a fly on the wall...

MB

I understand about the wife not getting it and having to sleep in the car too. I have recently got my new penman hat and my wife hasn't noticed at all. I didn't tell her cause I don't want to fight and if she does ask I'll tell her you didn't seem interested and I'm on a high about geting my hat and don't want you to kill the buzzz. We've been married 15 years but I've learned to pick and choose my battles and when to retreat and when to charge in. Good luck and enjoy your new hat, just wear it and she'll get used to it.

Up until I got my Fed IV I usually wore a cowboy hat... which my mother hates. She believes that if I wore anything that is not everyone's everyday attire that people would think less of me. It's been an ongoing battle and she no longer troubles me with it.

But back to the topic, when I got the Fed IV and made the switch from wearing this big ole cowboy hat to a fedora, my mother thought it was the same hat! We even got into an argument over whether or not it was the same hat that I have been wearing for the past several years.

So yeah, I can kind of see where you're coming from.

Oklahoma Jones wrote:As I like to tell my wife when she asks why I have so many Indy fedoras...'Subtle differences, my dear, subtle differences'...

Good concept here...women are funny about hats. I remember years ago, when I purchased a Borsalino (sp?) 'Indy' from Peter's Bros. and upon arrival walked into one of our rooms and said: "Well, what do you think?" She said: "It's another hat!" Well, my ego was crushed, but I rebounded by saying -- "No, it is not another hat, it is a special hat, and I am now going to give you a 'hat tutorial'...since that time, she has become expert at picking out which hat I am wearing and knowing the differences between each. She will tell other people who might ask -- "Oh, no that is not a Stetson, that is a Baron." Or -- "That hat? Well, it is a Herbert Johnson -- the orginal 'Indiana Jones' hat! You get the idea.

We live in a time when people still are not quite used to hats, as we have gotten away from them. But, things are changing and my wife is an example of this. To proclaim this concept -- I was leaving one day for a meeting and I was wearing one of my 'Indy style' hats and a Wested LC Jacket. I looked towards my wife and said: "Wait a minute, I am going to change things...they might not accept the way I am dressed!" She said: "You are William Conly -- you look like William Conly -- you are what you are and don't be concerned!"

So, I guess the moral of the story here is that -- 'you are who you are and don't worry about out side comments or thoughts! W>

Here's another great one...I usually don't wear the Fed IV to work, but today I did because I have a Masonic dinner after work so I'm in a suit. One of my coworkers on my team sees my hat and says, "I really like your hat. We have cowboys in some parts of India, too."

I was speechless.

Hehe, that was an interesting story! (and similar experiences from others here as well). Having just worked some time in persuading my wife that I really needed my new Fed Deluxe, I can certainly sympathize! Luckily, she likes the new FevIV more than she did my own Pacific Dofman...

@maboot38: I also had someone at work refer to my hat as a cowboy hat some years ago... I didn't know what to say to that. I guess he drew the conclusion from the fact that I had just come back from Canada (where I had been for a year), but it really shows how little people know about hats these days when they don't know the difference between a cowboy hat and a fedora...

the Fed do look (and are) usually too tall. On some faces you don't notice it, on many others you easily do but that has nothing to do with your wife

Personally I don't see it being too tall in the picture you posted but the face is covered so I can't really judge.

About not seeing any differences between the two... well that is quite secondary in my opinion. Not everyone has "the eye" for these things but there is nothing wrong with it I think, I'm sure she has "the eye" for other things which you (and us, men in general) wouldn't even suspect!

She knows.... somehow she knows and shes trying to put you down....

Nope, I know my wife. She doesn't know, or she would have given me a hard time about buying another "identical" hat.

Erri wrote:Not everyone has "the eye" for these things

You're quite right there - I'm personally always surprised by people who watch old 4:3 TV series stretched all over their widescreen TVs and don't even notice the fatness of all the actors. We all have "an eye" for different things.

Wolfwood wrote:

Erri wrote:Not everyone has "the eye" for these things

You're quite right there - I'm personally always surprised by people who watch old 4:3 TV series stretched all over their widescreen TVs and don't even notice the fatness of all the actors. We all have "an eye" for different things.

Man that kills me too

Mighty_Draw wrote:You are married! to someone who hasn't seen any of the Indy movies?! Wow. I made my girlfriend watch Raiders and Last Crusade before Crystal Skull came out, and I'll say she genuinely enjoyed them. We watched Temple of Doom later, which she did not like, but I don't hold it against her.

You made her watch Raiders and Last Crusade? Wow. I couldn't make my wife watch a movie she didn't want to watch any more than she could make me watch her favorite soap opera or any of the chick flicks she likes so much. Quite honestly, I wouldn't want to (make her, that is); we have very different tastes in movies, and we've "agreed to disagree" and leave it at that.

That said, my wife has only seen Raiders--once--when it first hit the theaters in '81; she thought it was "okay".

Zombie, I guess made is a bit strong. I I just tied her to a chair and only returned to the room to change DVDs.......

Kidding of course. She voluntarily watched them with me, she knew I was excited about CS so figured these movies must be important. I've been through my fair share of romantic comedies, HGTV, and talk shows so a few action movies here and there she can handle. She doesn't mind my childhood passion, turned adult eccentricity and thinks my thing for fedoras is "cute" so I keep her around ;-) (or rather she keeps me around).

My fiance quite enjoyed CS, we went opening night and she even dressed up as marion for me. She even made this collage.

Shes not the biggest fan of Indy because Harrison Ford is her parents favorite actor and basicly shoved his movies down her throat. When I saw her dressed up this was my general reaction: ;-)

You're a lucky man if your intended will dress up like Marion.
Now if she can drink like Marion, then maybe you should get some help.

Like others on this board, I married a non-Joneser.

She thinks she saw Raiders. And I took her to see KOTCS.

With some cajoling (and by cajole, I mean use the martial arts I've learned over the years to overpower her) I bet she'd watch Last Crusade. And I say that because she's all like "who is Indy's dad?"and all that.

Our boy will steal my Fed III any chance he can get and toddle around the house. Nothing funnier than an 18 month onld in a fedora!

I told her that I was saving up money to buy a Fed IV DLX. Funny since I am the one who makes all the money. It's like high school all over again...saving change from lunch money to buy what I really want.[/b]