MATEWAN - Great Hat Flick Video

[hatflick1]

Matewan was originally released in 1987. It's a John Sayles movie about a 1920's coal strike in West Virginia.

It's also a great hat flick!

http://videodetective.com/titledetails.aspx?PublishedID=570

However, the fedora styles seem more like the thirties.

If you take a minute to watch the clip, see if I'm sartorially correct or incorrect. Such styles did exist before,say, 1932.

Also some excellent examples of flat caps.

 

[Feraud]

Great movie.

 

[RBH]

I have it on DVD and really enjoyed watching it.

http://ferdyonfilms.com/matewan 2.jpg

 

[metropd]

Yes, the fedora styles are more 30's and 40's but these styles can be spotted in pictures from the 20's especially the late 20's. It just wasn't the most common style. The most common style fedora in the 20's was a center dent with a 2 1/4 to 2 5/8 brim with shallow or No dents. Teardrop crowns with deep front dents did exist though.

 

[hatflick1]

Yep, just what I thought. Many of the fedora styles did seem ahead of their time. The C crown was not a 20's staple.
It was also interesting to note how many of the mining company's hired Pinkerton enforcers wore rumpled army campaign hats with dress shirts and ties. Most likely these hats would have been left over from their service in WWI.

 

[metropd]

The U.S. Army wore them until 1941. The militiamen( National Guard) in North Virgina wore them as part of their standard uniform.

 

[hatflick1]

Would those army campaign hats have been wool or fur felt? Today they are a very stiff wool and appear darker in color. Generally, they are only worn by
drill instructors.