Club Obi Wan

I actually really kinda dig the Stetson Temple, even though it's not a perfect Indy hat (can't have every hat be an Indy hat [even though it kinda is an Indy hat ]). What's the quality of the felt like on these hats?

Depends on when you got it, I believe. I have one from 1990 or 91, and the felt is quite good. It has tapered a bit over the last 19 years or so, but that's hard to avoid unless it is a vintage (40 or more years ago?) hat where the felt was "dead" before it was made into a hat. I've heard that other Temples were badly made and some even had the color run in them when they got wet! Mine is "Sovereign Stetson" felt, which is supposed to be their better felt (I believe), so mine has held up pretty well. I can't say anything about the modern ones, however.

i have the one that came out right after the movie tod came out my wife ( my then girlfriend) bought me it as a gift, i have since passed it down to my son and he loves it --- it still has it's shape and the color is a little lighter but still looks good , he gets complments when he wears it out to the stores , here is a pic of him in it and i also have a gray steston hat i bought on ebay earlier this year.

One of the worst hats I ever owned. The crown shrank and shrivelled into a shapeless little bump. I gave it to a relative and he actually liked it, though, so I guess it's "all relative." To someone like him, who didn't have the Indy look in mind, it looked a little rough around the edges but otherwise OK. This was back in '84-'85, and maybe if I'd kept my Temple away from the Hot Pot it would have fared better; certainly I've owned other Stetsons that were much more rugged, even after being heavily steamed-- including licensed Indys.

Jack

Well, the current Stetson Temples are a far different quality than the one's they put out back then. Even so, I thought Stetson had higher grade fur felt hats (the actual Temples) apart from the wool ones they sold...

Yeah, I was thinking about picking up a modern Stetson Temple....it is a fur felt, not wool.

well like i said i passed it down to my son last year i hadnt worn it for years and it was smaller on my head , so i figure it will last him a few more years before he out grows it . by then he will have some other fedoras in his hat shelve.

Indyclone, from your photos and the label inside, I think your hat must be a licensed wool felt Indy hat released around the time of TOD, because I had one just like it.

It was a good hat and I'm glad your son likes it-- I never experimented with mine, so I don't know how well it would hold up to abuse.

In my post, I was referring to the fur felt, unlicensed model that Stetson called the Temple.

Jack

ahhhh my bad --- oh well

binkmeisterRick wrote:Well, the current Stetson Temples are a far different quality than the one's they put out back then. Even so, I thought Stetson had higher grade fur felt hats (the actual Temples) apart from the wool ones they sold...

I often hear that the Temple and the licensed Indys (fur felt) that were released around the same time from Stetson were the same hat, but that was not my experience. My Temple was quite different from my licensed Stetson fur felts, not only in felt quality but in the crown shape as well. The felt on the licensed Stetsons was much denser, for one thing.

Jack

indyclone wrote:ahhhh my bad --- oh well

Jack

I actually liked the Temple, and bought 4 or 5 of them.(they don't hold up to heat or rain very well) It is the TOD fedora, afterall. At least the hat Stetson placed in that film. Stetson uses a colored powder to make the felt look good, but this will wash out if you wear it in the rain. The powder is used to give the felt an even color. Once it washes out, you can see the inferior dye job that they do. I actually may buy another one, in the future. For a dry weather hat of course. They are cheap in price, and you are getting a hat that was used in an Indy film. It probably had a real short appearance in the film though, as HJs were the main hat.

What would be nice is IF Stetson would make a special run of the Temple, using a little better felt, with no powder. I would buy one imediately if they did. The brim on the Temple is 2 5/8 by 2 3/8 BTW. And this was supposedly the specs on the Stetson TOD hat as well. Shorter crown, coming in at 5 inches open crown. But, with the shorter brim, it is well proportioned. Fedora

Mine shrank and tapered and I gave it to my wife and she loves it. A hat like that, you oughta get a free bowl of soup with it. Looks good on her though.

I got mine when I was like 12 (I'm 34 now). My oldest son now wears it. Its held up very well I think. I did a sloppy reblock on it on a tupperware tub for my son. It has a tight raiders pinch and I think the pinch is just about to wear through, but for a 22 year old rabbit fur hat, its in decent shape.


Travis

Luke Warmwater wrote: A hat like that, you oughta get a free bowl of soup with it. Looks good on her though.

Caddyshack.

I had one for a while, and even wore it in the rain once. I never had any problem with it. It wasn't "me" so I sold it. The felt wasn't too bad. I recommend trying to get one second hand, or from the Hatco outlet in Texas. You'll pay much less for it.

Oh, I also recommend you wait a couple of months. I hear some recent Stetson dress hats went out with too much stiffener recently. Unless you're cool with that, of course.

Well, I went out to the local hat store (Hat Guys, Oakland, CA) and picked up a Temple. I'm going on a trip tomorrow and wanted a new hat, but the trip was too short notice to order a Penman, and by the time I got off my duff to order the Henry, both John and AB Europe were sold out. So, deciding that not every brown fedora in my collection need be an Indy fedora, I bought The Temple. Apologies in advance for the poor pic quality, there's really not enough light in my room for my awful, awful camera.


With my Christy's Adventurer (Sable) for comparison





It came with a Stetson hat pin and a feather, which I quickly discarded. I especially like the wide ribbon on this one.

Oh, I should add, the guy at the shop told me that this is the hat Carlos Santana is wearing (in black) and pointed to the autographed photo on the wall.

I think Robert Englund also wore the Temple in at least one of his Freddy Krueger movies.

Jack

If you can lay your hands on one of the Lucasfilm theater project Stetsons', THOSE are really decent fur felts. I was fortunate to get one back 'in the day' directly from the Paramount Studio warehouse (no, it isn't stolen. It was a gift. ), and the quality of the felt and lining blows the standard 'Temple of Doom' hat away.

Anyway, I can't add anything more to the discussion that what has already been said. It was the 'coveted' hat of it's day, and I wore out two myself before moving on to the Miller. They tapered, shrank and the dye ran just as badly as said above, but they kept my head warm in winter, covered in summer, and were my constant companion during the dark days of the mid to late 80's when we were looking for work after the economic meltdown of that decade....so they did their job, and with some dignity.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:If you can lay your hands on one of the Lucasfilm theater project Stetsons', THOSE are really decent fur felts.

Regards! Michaelson

I believe I owned some of those, and still have one, if you mean the ones with yellow and black linings and fabric sweatbands? They were tough as nails and took heavy steaming without any ill effects at all. You could also get back the original shape immediately if desired. They were wonderful hats. I was told they were pure beaver, and they must have been. There were later releases of these hats, with the same yellow/black linings and fabric sweats, that were of inferior felt quality and could taper and shrink very easily.

Jack

That's the one! The felt was supposed to be Portugese beaver, and made in Austria. Several had the Stetson crest imprinted on the fabric sweat too. Mine does.

To date you're only the second individual besides myself I've come across who owns one.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:That's the one! The felt was supposed to be Portugese beaver, and made in Austria. Several had the Stetson crest imprinted on the fabric sweat too. Mine does.

To date you're only the second individual besides myself I've come across who owns one.

Regards! Michaelson

Wow! Thanks for that info, I had no idea it was a scarce hat. One that I sold also had the Stetson crest on the sweat. The one I have left will definitely be a keeper now!

Jack

I'm sure you know the story, but for those who 'just came in', Lucas originally planned on selling hats etc. in the theater lobbies upon the release of Temple of Doom. He had Stetson make up a special run of fedoras, and was all set to 'do the deal', but after hearing relatively low opinions about the film after initial viewing by the public, Lucas decided to scrap the idea.

The hats etc. were placed in storage at Paramount, and eventually sold off to companies like U. S. Cavalry in Kentucky, who sold them mixed in with the regular Stetson 'Temple' stock hats.

So, if you ordered one from that company back in, say, 1985, you had a good chance of getting an original Lucasfilm theatrical sale hat that never made it to the public venue.

Regards! Michaelson

I do remember hearing that story. I never bought one from U.S. Cavalry, but from places like Eddie Bauer, Strawbridge & Clothier and another lesser known mail order catalog company whose name I can't recall offhand. Mine were all bought in '84 and '85, as I recall. Strawbridge & Clothier had them in several different colors, with Nugat being the obvious Indy color. They cost between $40-$50.

Jack

Yep, they were all mail order type companies that received these hats, so that makes perfect sense, and it's the right time.

Regards! Michaelson

_ wrote:
We need a museum to donate stuff to...

Isn't there that Hat museum over by Mr. Penman?

Nah. They're too much on topic.

You have a point there....

Regards! Michaelson

..as a fez should do....

Regards !Michaelson

That's ok. For YEARS folks at Indyfan thought I was Spielberg posting in disguise.

Regards! Michaelson

_ wrote: Rick? Could you post something telling folks that you are not Adam from Mythbusters!

You mean, he's not? But... but... I've met him... surely it must be....

I will neither conform nor deny that report.

Michaelson wrote:

That's ok. For YEARS folks at Indyfan thought I was Spielberg posting in disguise.

Regards! Michaelson

You never see them together, do you?

Wearing the Stetson Temple...someone has to get Bink back on topic.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Thanks for sharing that, Mark. I didn't know that story. I wish I would have been around then the possibly luck out on one. I guess if I'm lucky enough, I'll score one on ebay.

Easybox, can you post a picture of that Stetson? I'd love to see what it looks like!

Dave

DR Ulloa wrote:Thanks for sharing that, Mark. I didn't know that story. I wish I would have been around then the possibly luck out on one. I guess if I'm lucky enough, I'll score one on ebay.

Easybox, can you post a picture of that Stetson? I'd love to see what it looks like!

Dave

Just for you, Dave, and I hope this works, because I'm not too good at posting photos:

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0511.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0507.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0508.jpg

The photo tag pictured came with the hat, tucked inside the ribbon on the bow side.

Jack

Thanks, Jack! That hat certainly has held up well! Hold onto that one. Don't sell it...not even if someone offers to cut your lawn for a year...Dude, you want me to cut your grass for a year?

Dave

DR Ulloa wrote:Thanks, Jack! That hat certainly has held up well! Hold onto that one. Don't sell it...not even if someone offers to cut your lawn for a year...Dude, you want me to cut your grass for a year?

Dave

At my age, that's a very tempting offer, but I have a power mower so I think I'll risk doing it myself for another year.

That hat in the photos is one that I sold on eBay-- the one I now have left has seldom been out of its box and is still in new condition, so at least I'm lucky enough to have held onto one of them!

Jack

eazybox wrote:

DR Ulloa wrote:Thanks for sharing that, Mark. I didn't know that story. I wish I would have been around then the possibly luck out on one. I guess if I'm lucky enough, I'll score one on ebay.

Easybox, can you post a picture of that Stetson? I'd love to see what it looks like!

Dave

Just for you, Dave, and I hope this works, because I'm not too good at posting photos:

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0511.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0507.jpg

http://i220.photobucket.com/albums/dd12 ... 0_0508.jpg

The photo tag pictured came with the hat, tucked inside the ribbon on the bow side.

Jack

That is indeed one of the theater versions. Good catch!

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:[quote="

That is indeed one of the theater versions. Good catch!

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks! I once had a few more of them, and I hope they're being well cared for by whoever owns them now. But, since I didn't know what I really had, they probably don't either.

Jack

just dropping in to share a quick picture of my Temple out in the field. This is me standing at the gate to the village where my Grandfather was born just outside Kaiping, China on the Pearl River Delta:


Surprisingly, it doesn't seem to be shrinking or tapering (well, tapering more as it were).

I'm glad I saw this thread! I think I also have one of those theater Stetsons. It belonged to my grandfather, and I never thought it was anything more than a run of the mill Temple until I saw eazybox's pictures. It's a pretty nice hat, and if it's beaver I wouldn't be surprised. I can tell it's been well worn but it's still in pretty good shape.



And now the lining. This is what I thought of when I saw eazybox's photos.



So, I'll throw this out to those who would know. Is it a theater Stetson?

I'm certainly no expert on the theater hats, but yours certainly looks like the real deal to me! I did have a couple that seemed to be of lesser quality, but if the felt feels thick and substantial, and especially if it hasn't tapered or shrunk over time and has retained its original shape, it probably is the pure beaver version. Congrats!

Jack

eazybox wrote:I'm certainly no expert on the theater hats, but yours certainly looks like the real deal to me! I did have a couple that seemed to be of lesser quality, but if the felt feels thick and substantial, and especially if it hasn't tapered or shrunk over time and has retained its original shape, it probably is the pure beaver version. Congrats!

Jack

Thanks!

It does feel like a very substantial felt, very tough and stiff. I can't say for sure if it's tapered over the years because I only found it recently, but it doesn't seem like it would have.

I've had a total blast with my Stetson Temple, wearing it camping, in the rain, in the desert, and everywhere else. I've completely soaked it on at least 4 occasions. I bought it in 2005 I think, the felt is super soft, and never had the color run or the taper issue. Now I'm thinking they sent me something unique. I did play around with it a lot to get it to look more Indy though. Since I have my AB it just hangs next to my movie poster.

Phases of rebashing

_ wrote:Rick? Could you post something telling folks that you are not Adam from Mythbusters!

Since I'm the guy who takes care of his cats while he's at summits, I can tell you that, if he is Adam, he has a #### of a commute from Aspen Hill, Maryland to MI5 in 'Frisco and he needs to move to a nicer neighborhood.

I found one in a box in my attic today that I forgot I had.


It's in pretty good shape. It has the nice liner inside with the trademark and 1984 next to it. The block isn't great, but the felt is in pretty good shape.

Anybody know what this kind of thing is worth? I'd be interested in selling in it perhaps.

DHW

I'll post pics when I get a chance.

Here's my Stetson Temple.

Anybody know what this kind of thing is worth?

DHW

I've seen them sell on ebay from $20 to around $35, depending on condition. There's not a whole lot of demand for the standard Stetson contract hats, fur felt or otherwise.

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:I've seen them sell on ebay from $20 to around $35, depending on condition. There's not a whole lot of demand for the standard Stetson contract hats, fur felt or otherwise.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks, Michaelson.

I don't think of it as a super nice hat, though it is a decent fur felt hat. Obviously, to any serious gearhead it doesn't LOOK like Indy's hat. That's why I actually forgot I had it. Somebody gave it to me years ago and I think I said something like, "Oh, . . . cool . . . " (Then stuck in it a box, apparently!)

But on the other hand, it IS a pretty cool piece of memorabilia. Like I said, it has the year 1984 marked in it next to the Logo and trademark. If it isn't worth a lot, I'll just keep it around, but if anyone wanted it bad enough because they had to have it in their collection, I'd let it go for a price: your soul!!!! Bwa-ha ha ha!!!!!

DHW