Club Obi Wan

Folks,

I am a collector of antique Stetsons and recently got interested in the models that Stetson sold during the Indy hey day of the 1980s.

I would like to ask is there any place I can go to find out all the models that Stetson sold as an "official Indiana Jones" fedora?

I am not talking about hats that might "look like" an Indy hat. I mean the licensed Indy products made only by the Stetson hat company.


Thanks for your help.

Hmmmm... As I remember all the Stetsons I saw at the time were pretty poor imitations that were outsourced to another company and had the Stetson name added on. None had the correct bash and most (all?) were wool, not rabbit or beaver. Pretty disappointing

Fedoracentric wrote:Folks,

I am a collector of antique Stetsons and recently got interested in the models that Stetson sold during the Indy hey day of the 1980s.

I would like to ask is there any place I can go to find out all the models that Stetson sold as an "official Indiana Jones" fedora?

I am not talking about hats that might "look like" an Indy hat. I mean the licensed Indy products made only by the Stetson hat company.


Thanks for your help.

I purchased my first "Licensed Stetson Indy" hat from Eddie Bauer from a catalogue offer. So, the answer is Yes: they were a real item. I later purchased a grey "Stetson Indy" from them for my father and yet another -- many years later from Worth & Worth, who through many phone calls to replace my old one that had been destroyed by weather and wear, happened to have one left and it was in my size. As to who, other then 'Stetson' themselves might have offered these, I do not know. But, yes -- they did exist. The same hat is sold today -- as "The Temple," but it does not have a lining calling it an "Indy," or something like that in it -- only a standard "Stetson Lining." It was a pretty neat hat at the time, considering it was the only hat with the proper 'brim' cut. By the way, they were and are 'rabbit fur felt' hats.

At the time -- that (first-Indy hat) and my Banana Republic pre-distressed A2 jacket was the real deal! Great memories from the past -- wish I had some photos from that time -- then again, maybe not !

Hope this helps a bit. There are older posts on this site regarding this particular hat. Do a search and perhaps you will find more information then I have been able to provide here . W>

Bought one with some "gift" money as a kid in the 80's off of a department store hat rack. I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.

It had an official Indiana Jones pin on the outside, and an Indy "TOD pose" decal stuck to the inside of the unlined crown. Pics (not mine):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/neatocool ... otostream/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/neatocool ... otostream/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Then it got wet. Can you say Raiders seaplane escape?

Tibor wrote:Hmmmm... As I remember all the Stetsons I saw at the time were pretty poor imitations..None had the correct bash and most (all?) were wool, not rabbit or beaver.

I know that some of the Stetsons were fur felt. They had some straws, too if I remember right. I also know that Stetson had some cloth "bucket" Indy licensed hats, too.

Of course, I fully understand that the Stetson offerings are not proper replicas of the real screen-used Indy hats.

In fact, if I start trying to collect them all, I probably will never wear them. My goal is to collect Stetsons, not Indy hats.

As to better replicas of the Indy hat, I once had a Fed. IV and hated the way it looked on me. I have a face shape that a tall, squared crowned hat looks horrible on.

Anyway, I am just ruminating about Stetson's offerings, not looking for the *perfect* Indy replica fedora.

Hope this helps explain what I am looking for. And thanks for everyone's help on this.

Cajunkraut wrote:Bought one with some "gift" money as a kid in the 80's off of a department store hat rack. I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven.

It had an official Indiana Jones pin on the outside, and an Indy "TOD pose" decal stuck to the inside of the unlined crown. Pics (not mine):

https://www.flickr.com/photos/neatocool ... otostream/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/neatocool ... otostream/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Then it got wet. Can you say Raiders seaplane escape?

Yepper! Ain't it so? W>

Fedoracentric wrote:Anyway, I am just ruminating about Stetson's offerings, not looking for the *perfect* Indy replica fedora.

Hope this helps explain what I am looking for. And thanks for everyone's help on this.

We're pickin' up what you're puttin' down, Fedora. Welcome to COW, by the way!

Simply due to the nature of this hobby and forum, you may get lots of first-hand impressions when inquiring about specific items. In the absence of a true review and ratings system by a vendor, it's the next best thing (usually even better). It also benefits others who may now or later be searching for the same item(s). The sheer volume of current and archived information here on all things Indy is overwhelming. Check out the search function if you haven't already.

My contribution was simply to give one example of what you might find out there. Incidentally, mine was 100% wool felt and cost about $35 if I recall.

Again, welcome!

Lucas had originally planned on offering a beaver felt Austrian made Stetson for sale in the lobby of the theaters where Temple of Doom was being shown in 1984. For what ever reason, that plan was scrapped and the beaver felt Stetsons languished in the Paramount Studio warehouse for many years until they were sold off in lots to companies like U.S Calvary and Cabellas, and once sold off replaced in stock by the wool felt versions.

The beaver felt versions occasionally show up on ebay.

Regards. Michaelson

Michaelson wrote:Lucas had originally planned on offering a beaver felt Austrian made Stetson for sale in the lobby of the theaters where Temple of Doom was being shown in 1984. For what ever reason, that plan was scrapped and the beaver felt Stetsons languished in the Paramount Studio warehouse for many years until they were sold off in lots to companies like U.S Calvary and Cabellas, and once sold off replaced in stock by the wool felt versions.

The beaver felt versions occasionally show up on ebay.

Regards. Michaelson

Interesting info here. I remember reading that Lucas had offerings of the 'hat' for sale at theaters, but always assumed it to be the 'rabbit version.' Makes me wonder if 'those' hats would have held up better then the 'rabbits ?' Thanks for the data ! W>

I own one. The difference in materials is as different as night and day in comparison to the later U.S. made versions. They look the same in design, but the felt is much better and the hat a very dark brown.

Regards! Michaelson

WConly wrote: Interesting info here. I remember reading that Lucas had offerings of the 'hat' for sale at theaters, but always assumed it to be the 'rabbit version.' Makes me wonder if 'those' hats would have held up better then the 'rabbits ?' Thanks for the data ! W>

Knowing hats the way I do, I doubt they were beaver. They would have cost way too much if they were. They are probably rabbit fur which can be sold at half the price point. Hatters call it "fur felt" but they usually mean rabbit. If the hat is beaver, hatters usually go out of their way to note it's beaver and also the price jumps way, way up accordingly.

I own one. It's beaver and like I said, the originals were made in Austria. We know hats too.

I got mine directly from the Paramount prop warehouse in 1985 before they were scattered, and it was sent to Steve Delk (AdventureBilt Hats) many years ago and confirmed to be a very fine quality Austrian beaver felt hat.

Lucas had planned to sell 3 grades out of the lobby....Beaver, rabbit and wool.



Regards! Michaelson

Well, that is even cooler than I thought. I would never have thought they'd have had actual beaver ones!
Great to know. Now I need to be on the lookout for one of those!

They show up every so often on ebay, but it's been a while since I've seen one. They don't come out of collections very often as people recognize them as LFL licensed items under the Stetson name and equate them to the run of the mill offerings that Stetson cranked out by the millions after Temple of Doom. They don't know these originals even exist.

Good luck in your search. That's what makes this hobby so interesting.

Regards! Michaelson

Learn something new here every time i log on!


Sent from the Bantu Wind using Tapatalk.

Some photos would be helpful. Of the logos, liner stampings and the like.

I do have two of Stetson's wool versions, the one with the silverish disc label with the chest-up image of Indy with the machete over his shoulder. One is the gray version and the other is the dark brown one.

For woolies they aren't bad hats as hats go, but they have no relation to the real Indy hats, of course.

Michaelson wrote:They show up every so often on ebay, but it's been a while since I've seen one. They don't come out of collections very often as people recognize them as LFL licensed items under the Stetson name and equate them to the run of the mill offerings that Stetson cranked out by the millions after Temple of Doom. They don't know these originals even exist.

By the way, does this beaver hat have a cloth sweatband instead of a leather (or synthetic) one?

Cloth with gold Stetson logo.

Regards! Michaelson

Thanks

Well, I just got one of the straw ones. Only problem is it is missing the ribbon. I will have a hatter make me a new one for it. I know a hat maker in Tenn. who has one of those original straws in his shop, so he can make a ribbon just like the one I need. So, I have a gray and brown wool version and a straw version (and maybe one of the beaver ones coming up).

Buckaroo Hatters out of Covington, TN?

Regards! Michaelson

Dat be da one.

Dang the both of you! I was just cruising around their website and there's a whole slew of hats that caught my eye.

They don't post their prices online though. I understand their explanation that each hat being custom, pricing will be affected by the work being done, but still, a ballpark would be nice without having to call.


Regards,

Indiana Jeff

I have never personally dealt with them but know folks who have, and they're VERY happy with their products and customer service. He was also featured on a segment of Tennessee Crossroad's on PBS out of Nashville a few years back.

Regards! Michaelson

Yes, they do fantastic work. But these are real fedoras/westerns, so they aren't cheap.

True, but they're comparable to our other custom hat makers we deal with on a daily basis here at Indygear, like Mike's, Jackson Hole hat makers, Peter's Brothers, Penman and AdventureBilt, to name a few and in no particuar order of preference.

Regards! Michaelson

Oh, I am not saying their prices are out of line. Not at all. I am just saying you won't be paying $25 for a hat!

Well, I just got what I assume is one of the fur felt versions. It is the full Stetson version, proper hat size tag (i.e. NOT small, large or medium) and in the original black and white Stetson hat box. I'll let you know what its like when it gets here.

Well, after starting this thread here is an update:

I can say that I've picked up some of these hats.

I have a wool version one each in the black, gray and brown colors. I have one fur felt version (brown). And one straw version. The straw amuses me because it has precisely nothing at all to do with the movie but, hey, it has the Indy logo in the crown!

Anyway, I have seen some of the later ones from the post 1984f ilm that are sewn cloth and decided not to get into those ones.

I might look for one more fur felt one (this time in my size) though.

If you can, would you post a photo of the straw version? I've heard of them, but can't say that I recall ever actually SEEING one.

Regard! M

Michaelson wrote:If you can, would you post a photo of the straw version? I've heard of them, but can't say that I recall ever actually SEEING one.

Regard! M

I recall seeing them (don't hold me to this, but I am pretty certain I am correct here) in Eddie Baur's catalog back in the 80's! W>

That or Cabella's. Sounds like something they'd carry.

Regard! M

OK, I'll take a few to put up.

Wait, I forgot, I have some.
Is 15 posts the limit?

The sweatband is cloth.

Fedoracentric wrote:




The sweatband is cloth.

Cool! Thank you for posting pics...now, the question still awaits harbor from the distant shores -- "Who" sold this, ie: catalog, stores, etc.? Just curious about this one . Thanks. W>

WConly wrote: Cool! Thank you for posting pics...now, the question still awaits harbor from the distant shores -- "Who" sold this, ie: catalog, stores, etc.? Just curious about this one . Thanks. W>

Not a clue. I missed the whole sales campaign when the movies originally came out. I never knew the hats were being sold at all at the time, so where they were being sold escaped my notice. In the 80s I was more worried about getting married and having kids at the time! LOL

Also, that "large" sure shrank up. I am a 7-1/8 hat size and it is only just a tiny bit big on me. It isn't very "large," in other words.

I picked one up on ebay about a year ago. Has yellow lining, and is either rabbit or beaver. It's not very screen accurate at all, but I don't mind it being abused badly during hiking or camping. A good hat, but it's got a small crown, and the brim has flattened out almost everywhere.

As I recall some of the early Stetsons were from Curry felt (S.A.?), some were made from European felt & some were made from .
I have seen these for sale often, always with the CLOTH sweatband, they range in quality from quite nice to meh. The specs vary widely.
But LAST week I saw an '84 Stetson Indy with the gold liner & so forth, but it is the only one I have ever seen with a LEATHER sweatband!
Might the sweatbands help to differentiate the various sources stetson chose to source the felt from?
Having never seen one with a leather sweat made me curious about such matters...Michaelson, anyone, Buler...?

I recall the planned theater offered versions were both leather AND cloth sweats, made by a European manufacturer for Stetson, but the cloth version was the one that was made in the largest number.

As it turned out, they were dumped on the open market through companies like U. S. Cavalry as mixed stock with standard U. S. made production Stetson 'TofD' fedoras.

Regards! Michaelson

... I ask because yesterday I bought this one



Looks like primo felt, from this distance.

With THIS sweat, that I have seen 99 of 100 of the c.'84/'85/ Stetson fur felt IJs.

Then TODAY I bought THIS 'un-

Rare gray but rarer still, THIS sweat--->

Any insight to be gained from this?

Fairly common for retailers to have their store markings imprinted on the band, if that's what you're asking about.

jlee562 wrote:Fairly common for retailers to have their store markings imprinted on the band, if that's what you're asking about.

No, more the leather vs. cloth headbands.

I bought an Akubra Stylemaster from John Helmer when I was in Portland a couple of years ago. He has a great in-store selection.