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Posted by Fedora from ppp-182.col.cableone.net on December 11, 2000 at 22:58:55:

In Reply to: Then too, the movie was not shot in sequence..... posted by Dakota Ellison on December 11, 2000 at 16:43:59:

: : : : : Hey gang:
: : : : : Just out of curiousity, and in light of the "newest" info surrounding the HJ fedora, I measure my hat.
: : : : : I found that the crown height, unbashed, was 6 inches. This is after some minor shrinkage over the last 2 years. Also, the brim dimensions were an "even" 2 7/8 x 2 3/4.
: : : : : When I ordered my hat 2 years ago, Mr. Swales didn't think they'd be able to accomodate me as I suffer from "big head-itis" (size 63 - not sure in American). He looked around his shop/inventory for awhile and came back on the phone to tell me that he had one left.
: : : : : Now the thing is, I messed around with the hat a bit to make it look like the "Raiders" fedora, and it looks pretty damn close. I have a picture of me wearing it, next to a still from "Raiders" and it looks almost identical. I say almost because obviously Harrison Ford's head and my head are of different sizes.
: : : : : Out of the box it looked like a dead-on LC hat, but like I said, a little modification and it looks like the "Raiders" fedora, at least enough for me!
: : : : : Cheers,
: : : : : Sean

: : : :
: : : : I agree that out of the box the HJ looks very LC, but it can, as Sean so rightly states (glad to see some defence of the HJ as a Raiders hat!) be shaped with patience and careful study of the video/stills to be a dead-ringer for the Raiders fedora. I don't own a PB so I can't comment on its Raiders' likeness, but for my money I am happy that my HJ is spot-on Raiders.

: : : : I think that it's possible we're all getting really hung up about a fraction of an inch here and there on the crown or the brim dimensions and forgetting that one of the most important elements that you have to allow for when making a judgement on which look you are able to achieve with which hat is still your own head size and shape.

: : : : Regards,
: : : : Arizona

: : Okay, at the risk of possibly contradicting my last post, my HJ specs are:

: : 2 3/4 inches front and back brim, 2 3/8 to 2 1/2 side, 5 inches high (bashed), 6 inches (unbashed), Petersham ribbon 39mm. My hat size is 61, 7 1/2 (UK), 7 5/8 (US).

: : Slightly different from Sean's measurements, but I can only suggest that this may prove my point about different head sizes/shapes in proportion to slightly different hat size/specs.

: : I'm sure this has been said before, but if any of us could step into the movie and lift HF's hat straight off his head and try it on, head size aside I still maintain the specs would not be agreeable to some of us.

: : For the purposes of my rant only (hrmmm)I am sitting looking at a montage of Ford in his Raiders HJ, and comparing it to the way I look in my own HJ. If you take the time to really study it, there's quite a lot of variation in the apparent size of the hat in the Raiders stills. The measurement from bottom of the the Petersham ribbon to the top of the crown, more often than not, is not as high as that of Ford's chin to brow 'height'. But this seems to me to depend on how deeply the bash extends down in to the top of the head. And again, depending on how far back in the head the bash has been extended, the hat can seem either slghtly slimmer than the width of Ford's face or just as wide.

: : Some factors to consider when shaping your hat to whichever style.

: : Hope this is helpful!

: : Regards,
: : Arizona

: :
: For instance the Cairo street scenes were next to the last shot. Indy's hat is at its most laid back slouchiness. Then they went to Hawaii to film the opening Peruvian jungle scenes. The hat is at its best shape here. New hat? Probably. When Indy dives into the spider web on his way out of the temple, he's on a soundstage in England and he dives into Hawaii and rolls down the hill. The main thing for continuity was that sharp crease at the front. Or in Last Crusade, the hat is looking pretty good while Indy's fighting on the tank; the brim nice and wide, then they enter the Grail temple and his brim shrinks or curves up to where the brim appears smaller. They never thought that twenty years later a bunch of fans would be commenting on how the brim went up on one side or got smaller or whatever. So pick your favorite hat in your favorite scene and go for that.
: Cheers,
: Ellison

Exactly right! Quite a few hats were used in each film, and some varied, especially with the brim width. Truth is, probably no one fedora was identical to another, due to the hats being hand shaped. One thing that sets Indy's fedora apart from other fedoras, is the wider brim, and on the Raiders version, a hint of a western look. I am still reeling from these new disclosed facts that some HJs are 6 inches tall. I am gonna have to call Joe and order me a new fedora, a six inch tall crown, 2 7/8 x 2 3/4 brim, and maybe a 1 5/8 inch ribbon if he has them. Regads, Fedora

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