Club Obi Wan

What do you think?

Are they too out there, too large, to be something a person wore in the 30s like Henry Jones when he wasn't wearing the brown?

I'd like to get other colors of the Fed IV because honestly the other fedoras all look a little too small or stumpy..

Someday I'd like to have a closet of suits and matching fedoras like in the old days..

And honestly these ARE nice quality hats, right? Especially compared to what's out there at the local target heh.

The Federations do lend themselves to other bash styles than just Indy, as do any in the same general specs. If you pay attention to old movies and tv shows, quite a few hats have the same general specs as what we wear, and they're in a multitude of styles.

Matter of fact, I've started popping a diamond shaped center dent into my Keppler when I want something different. I should take a photo of that.

Randy

They're fantastic quality hats. I own a black one that I wear while I'm out, so you can get a Fed IV in ... let's say ... Tawny Fawn or Moonstone and have it be a regular "non Indy" hat.

I have three fed's and only the brown one is bashed Indy style. I've bashed my moonstone and carbon grey hats to resemble vintage looks. I get great comments about them all the time. My moonstone has a diamond bash on top, and my carbon grey has a teardrop.

An open crown hat is a great thing to buy because it allows you to make it your own, pre-formed hats are nearly impossible to reshape.

When the Federation line was created (with major input from folks right here at COW! ) they designed the hat not just with Indy in mind, but also the swing dance revival of the time. It was meant to be just as much a 1930s style fedora as an Indy hat.

To give you a visual, here are pictures of an actual hat I own from "ye olde days." It is roughly the same measurements of an Indy fedora, and has a similar bash. Of course, I could change that if I wanted to.

Chewie, that is one beautiful hat. I love the contrast of that ribbon on the grey felt. Very nice. I still don't know how guys can say that Indy's hat doesn't look anything like hats from the 30's and 40's.

Dave

The one that makes me scratch my head are folks that claim the tight pinched Raiders hat syslte was NEVER worn or seen during the 1930's, and yet if you get a copy of the original 1937 D. Tracy detective serials, you'll that hat style all THROUGH that series, including the fedora on D. Tracy's head!

When I see comments like that posted, I KNOW these folks didn't do their homework.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:The one that makes me scratch my head are folks that claim the tight pinched Raiders hat syslte was NEVER worn or seen during the 1930's, and yet if you get a copy of the original 1937 D. Tracy detective serials, you'll that hat style all THROUGH that series, including the fedora on D. Tracy's head!

When I see comments like that posted, I KNOW these folks didn't do their homework.

Regards! Michaelson

Agreed.

DR Ulloa wrote:Chewie, that is one beautiful hat. I love the contrast of that ribbon on the grey felt. Very nice. I still don't know how guys can say that Indy's hat doesn't look anything like hats from the 30's and 40's.

Dave

The felt is brown. Ok, not really. I'd cal it "natural" but it is tan'ish in person.

I think a lot of people who like vintage headwear like to find ways to distance themselves from what they see as a movie-costume piece. Thus, it's easier to be willfully blind to examples that do exist. And since many rely on the words of others to educate them, misconceptions form and are passed on easily. So is born the Internet-Fact.

Michaelson wrote:syslte

Style?

Hi,

I second Chewie's wise words. Like him, I am a regular hat wearer. One of my hats is an "Indy hat", a Penman Raiders; and I own several other, vintage, brown and grey hats similar in style and dimensions. And lots of other hats.

As I have said before, the less conventional feature of the Indy hats is the dimensionally cut brim, which, although existing at the time, was certainly rare in fedoras. Indeed, you see vintage hats creased as the Raiders hat; not the most frequent style, but far from unknown. Most probably they chose it for the film as a distinctive bonus. And the other Indy hats are creased in common styles - by some reason, they elected to forget the distinctiveness bonus in the sequels.

Yes, sometimes you see some disparaging extreme views, against the Indy hats, from other communities of hat wearers. These are mostly unfounded or exaggerate. A part of it is also due to the uninformed public tendence to make Indy remarks about any kind of hat, which annoys some people very much.

This said, you see also some Indy-centric extreme, or conceivably odd, views and comments in communities like this, which may influence negatively that other people's opinion. Understandably, to some extent. Many Indy hat wearers DO use the hat as a costume piece, as part of a costume; and this may be seen as harming by other hat users that do it for style or sartorial reasons.

No need to be extreme in any way. In this forum, there are not a few people who are also members and contributors to such hat forums as "The Fedora Lounge". With a little bit of effort to feel empathy for the other people's views, and understand them, you can conciliate both worlds.

Just wear your hats, Indy or non Indy.

Better yet: wear BOTH Indy and not-Indy hats. Save the hat!


BTW, in response to the original question: the Fed IV lends easily to non-Indy uses, it looks fine not only with a center dent, but with diamond or c-crown creases, too. And you have a nice choice of colours. If you go to "The Fedora Lounge" you will find plenty of examples, and threads dedicated solely to it. Use the search function (type "Akubra", or "Federation"). In the "What hat are you wearing today" Akubra Federation IVs and Campdrafts appear often, because they have fine vintage dimensions. There is at least one member ("Goose") who has one Fed IV in every colour. Enjoy!

As I have said before, the less conventional feature of the Indy hats is the dimensionally cut brim, which, although existing at the time, was certainly rare in fedoras.

Not just rare. Virtually unheard of. The only company that seems to have done it was, appropriately, Herbert Johnson. Not only that, but when they did the dimensional cut, it wasn't the way the Raiders hat was done - they made the back part of the brim shorter and that was about it. So yes, Indy's hat is 30's-esque in that its crown and brim are relatively tall, but if you have a good eye for hats, you can see the differences. -M

Actually, HJ is not alone Mulceber. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember where I've seen the Indy dimensional cut, but I am failing utterly. So, while I am unable to prove it, I know that they existed as far back as the twenties. The most common dimensional cut, though, still exists today; the back is the narrowest, the sides slightly wider, and the front the widest. Very popular in the current Stetson lines.

Yep - basically what I was trying to describe. Still, while it's possible that Indy would have had a hat like that, its details are uncharacteristic of the 30's. -M