Club Obi Wan

I know a few COWers have these Stetson Indy lids and we mention them in passing every now and again, but I've never seen one that looked so close to the on screen hats.

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(seller's photo)

The second pic on the left side looks a heck of a lot like the plane/cockpit hat.

jlee562 wrote:I know a few COWers have these Stetson Indy lids and we mention them in passing every now and again, but I've never seen one that looked so close to the on screen hats.

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(seller's photo)

The second pic on the left side looks a heck of a lot like the plane/cockpit hat.

Lovely hats. Lovely layout. Someone got lucky on these.

I got sniped on the gray. Ah, well.

Well, I guess the world really IS ending soon, because I just did something that I swore I never would after buying my Swales HJ Poet back in 1999: I just bought a second Indiana Jones fedora!

After reading Fenris' Stetson Temple reblock post, I was curious how accurate the current models looked (back in the day, my first fedora was a Stetson licensed Indy with the little brass logo pin). Anyway, I browsed a few online retailers before sticker shock for inaccurate-looking Indy lids drove me to *cough* a certain popular auction site, where I found a glorious, near-pristine, American-made vintage fur felt Stetson in my exact size. The pictures gave me a really good vibe, so I nabbed it on an impulse buy since (aside from LC) I'm also a Temple rope bridge costumer, and a few Stetsons were used in the film. This is basically my Christmas gift to myself, and I'm really excited about it. The only thing I'm not so jazzed about is the weird burgundy sweatband that comes in the original hat (see pics above). I wonder if a professional hatter can install a more SA band without destroying the hat?

I should think any of our friendly neighborhood hatters could easily change out the ribbon. I'd check with David Garrison/Local Land Surveyor.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Wait, the ribbon or the sweatband?

Actually, it's inconsequential, any qualified hatter can replace both.

Actually, both, now that I look at it. While the hat body itself is in excellent shape (for a nearly 30-year-old hat), the ribbon appears to be somewhat faded, or maybe it's just the lighting conditions. After watching the ToD Blu-ray this evening, I can see that the screen-used Stetsons had dark brown ribbon for consistency with the HJ Poets, and I recall my original Stetson Indy having a very brownish ribbon virtually the same shade as the felt. So yes, I'll definitely have both the ribbon and inner sweatband changed by one of our trusted hatmakers on COW, and that gives me something else to look forward to in the (very likely) event that we're still here on Saturday.

As to changing the sweat band, it can be done, it's not that complicated. I was swapping out the ribbon on my fedora, and ended up cutting through some threads on the sweat. It wasn't hard to stitch it back in, but patience and a degree of dexterity is required. In short, you can do this yourself; if I did it bare handed, you could probably do it while wearing oven mits.

Weston

Without the necessary materials, not to mention a complete lack of hatmaking experience, I think I'll wisely leave the job to a professional. Although it wasn't an expensive hat by any stretch, I'd hate to accidentally ruin it with my novice repair efforts.

The only reason I reblock my own hats is because I can't afford to have it reblocked in the US. Shipping + reblock fee + shipping again + possible customs taxes make having a hat reblocked by a professional kinda hard.

Still haven't attempted a full reblock, though. Like you, I'm afraid of my sewing skills. I have successfully managed to sew a ribbon back, but not sure if I would be successful sewing on a sweatband.

Speaking of reblocking, I think I'll get the Ford Trimotor bash, when Indy slips into the pilot seat.

Or maybe the classic rope bridge bash! That's a definite crowd-pleaser!

When I first saw the hat, I was immediately struck by how the profile and block shape resembled my Herbert Johnson. According to the description, the brim dimensions are 2 3/8" on the front & back, 2" on the sides, while the crown height is 4 5/8.



Looks like a real beauty! I'll keep the original Stetson Indy logo silk liner, which is immaculate, and have the other trimmings changed out for the real Indy stuff.

whipwarrior wrote:Or maybe the classic rope bridge bash! That's a definite crowd-pleaser!

When I first saw the hat, I was immediately struck by how the profile and block shape resembled my Herbert Johnson. According to the description, the brim dimensions are 2 3/8" on the front & back, 2" on the sides, while the crown height is 4 5/8.



Looks like a real beauty! I'll keep the original Stetson Indy logo silk liner, which is immaculate, and have the other trimmings changed out for the real Indy stuff.

Looks GREAT!

Yeah, I can't WAIT until it arrives! I haven't been so thrilled for a hat since the 2-month wait for my HJ back in May 1999. I've already spoken to Local Land Surveyor, and he actually owns one of these Indy Stetsons also, which is perfect because he's completely familiar with its construction. I'll post comparison pics with my Poet once the refurb is complete.

whipwarrior wrote:Yeah, I can't WAIT until it arrives! I haven't been so thrilled for a hat since the 2-month wait for my HJ back in May 1999. I've already spoken to Local Land Surveyor, and he actually owns one of these Indy Stetsons also, which is perfect because he's completely familiar with its construction. I'll post comparison pics with my Poet once the refurb is complete.

Looking fwd, to that.

The hat arrived today! And it is practically MINT. I mean, this thing looks like it just came out of the box. The beaver felt is satin-smooth, and the ribbon and sweatband are equally nice, but still need to be changed to suit my screen-accurate satisfaction. The crown height is marginally shorter than the Poet (this can be visually remedied by adding the narrower Indy ribbon), and the brim diameter is also smaller by comparison. The silk liner is a bit more yellowed than the auction pics indicated, but I'm sure the crown logo section can easily be removed and stitched into a new liner. More importantly, it fits like a glove!

And before anyone says , here they are:





I'm reveling in the ToD tapered crown goodness!

Sharp looking lid you got there.

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

Thanks! It'll look much sharper with all the proper trimmings! I'm just happy to have both types of hats used in ToD and Last Crusade.

Garrison is THE MAN! He transformed my vintage Stetson Indy into the ultimate Temple of Doom fedora! New ribbon, sweat band, lining, and reblock. Check it out!!!

BEFORE:



AFTER: (and remember the Herbert Johnson is the one on the left!)









It's the closest thing to time traveling back to Elstree Studios circa 1983 and stealing a hat from the wardrobe department. Garrison, your work is awesome beyond words... You have my sincerest gratitude for this hat. I will treasure it always.

I thought it looked good before, Garrison did a great job with it!

Regards,

Indiana Jeff

I've always found it interesting to see how much of a change just the "right" hat band colouring can make to a hat.....Garrison's band is spot on...And the colour of the hat itself is boosted with the darker band...

Absolutely lovely stuff...Great work!

Agreed! The dark ribbon gives the felt a whole new dimension, enhancing the rich brown color. Garrison really knocked the ball out of the park with this one. I almost can't believe it's the same lid that I picked up on eBay a few months ago. His blocking and trimmings are light years ahead of Stetson. It's too bad they didn't make the Temple this screen-accurate to begin with, but what do you expect from a commercially mass-produced hat? But this proves exactly why we IndyGearheads are so lucky to have fan-hatters like David Garrison and Steve Delk. Their quality and attention to detail surpass anything out there, and represent the pinnacle of their craft.