The New Federation is Landing...

[Spatterdash]

Mods, I hope I can post this and not step on any toes.

www.hatsdirect.com/federation

If you check the Specifications, it will provide you with information on the new Fed IV and the new Fed IV Deluxe.
Looks like the new Standard Fed will be available in all the classic colors except Mid Brown is gone.
Now it's Dark Brown. It will also be in Moonstone Grey (huzzah!) as well as the Carbon Grey and the Tawny Fawn we all love, and Black as well.

The Deluxe is Dark Brown & Black, and get this... Heritage Fawn.
I applaud Ron and the gang at Hatsdirect.

 

[Spellflower]

Sounds like it will be a great hat!

Now if we could just get HatsDirect to stop characterizing this hat as a "pre World War 2 hat," and admit that it's an Indy Hat. I suspect they're trying to avoid a law suit, but in doing so they're confusing screen accuracy with historical accuracy, and mis-educating their customers.

When I walked into The Hattery and bought a Fed, the salesperson told me that it was styled on hats worn from the turn of the century to WWII, and this is pretty much what it says on the website description also. The problem is that, as Art Fawcett was kind enough to point out when I repeated this malarkey in a thread called "My New Federation" a year ago,

the mid 30's( when the film was set) was NOT a wide brim era. The average brim in 1935 was 2 3/8", NOT 3", NOT 2 3/4. I know it's been discussed extensively in the Indy crowd and it's gone into the "common knowledge" of that crowd, but those are "facts" that have been formed to fit the concept, not reality. If you take the time to really study the periods, which I was required to do for my business, you would see that there were of course exceptions as in any period so you could stretch things to fit whatever you want, but the truth is that the wide brim in the mid thirties was the exception, not the rule..... [the hat] really IS a hybrid.... The crown height is correct for '30s but the brim width is right for the '40s. Add the dimensoinal brim which was RARELY done in this country and you have a true hybrid.

Hatsdirect seems to lump all fedoraesque hats into one big category, stretching all the way from 1895 to 1945, which displays a stunning lack of historical knowledge.

 

[Colby Jack]

That is great news!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap
Now can we get one in bluegrass green next?

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

When I walked into The Hattery and bought a Fed, the salesperson told me that it was styled on hats worn from the turn of the century to WWII, and this is pretty much what it says on the website description also. The problem is that, as Art Fawcett was kind enough to point out when I repeated this malarkey in a thread called "My New Federation" a year ago,

Of course, one can always do what I did; order a Federation then trim the brim down to an even 2 1/4 non-dimensional width. Result? Perfect early-to-mid 1930s hat!

 

[Edward]

MOONSTONE! yes!!!!

Very excited by this news. Sounds to me like someone has been listening in round these parts. I do so hope a midnight blue comes out soon...

 

[Spellflower]

Of course, one can always do what I did; order a Federation then trim the brim down to an even 2 1/4 non-dimensional width. Result? Perfect early-to-mid 1930s hat!

Nothing wrong with that. And nothing wrong with the hat as it is, if you like it that way. The only thing that I (and Art) have a problem with is when Indy hats are represented as typical of 1930's (or any era) hats.

 

[Rick Blaine]

Of course, one can always do what I did; order a Federation then trim the brim down to an even 2 1/4 non-dimensional width. Result? Perfect early-to-mid 1930s hat!

... how 'bout a photo tutorial? I am too chicken**** to come near a brim with a sharp object!

 

[MississippiLong]

New Fed

I was thinking of going ahead and getting a Fed before they got the shorter crown, but after reading this, I gotta wait to see the Moonstone color. Tawny Fawn is my favorite right now, but this Heritage fawn on the delux sounds interesting too. Any idea how long before we can see some pics of the new colors?

 

[Mustang]

Is "Moonstone Grey" a light shade of grey?

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

... how 'bout a photo tutorial? I am too chicken**** to come near a brim with a sharp object!

If I do it again to another hat I will oblige, but unfortunately I don't have any hats on hand that need brim cutting. I was pretty chicken about it too at first, the key is not to try to take it all off at once. Trim it a bit, wear it, see how it looks, wait a couple days/weeks, trim some more, repeat, until pretty soon you will hit the "aha!" moment where it fits you perfectly.

 

[The Librarian]

Would hope for a dark or charcoal grey...

...in a Fed Deluxe. I wear mostly black and navy suits. I still plop my Brown Fed Deluxe on my head and throw caution and fashion sense to the wind.

As to whether or not Indy's hat is authentic to the late `30's. I have a book titled "Costume 1066 - 1966", by John Peacock. It's sub-titled " A Complete Guide to English Costume Design and History. Through the reign of George V (1910 - 1936) and George VI (1936 - 1952) wide brimmed trilbies are shown. The brim doesn't look dimensional but clearly as wide as Indy's hat. Seeing as Indy traveled through Europe as a young man he'd be influenced by the English style of fashion.

Just my un-educated thoughts on the matter. But as most say, I wear the Fed Deluxe cause I like how it looks.

Ciao

 

[Spellflower]

Librarian, you may be right. If you have access to a scanner and could post some pics, that would be great.

In any case, I think the important thing is to base information on historical sources, like factual books and period photos, rather than movies made decades after the fact.

If we go by that logic, western hat makers may as well make black hats, and claim that they are reproductions of the hats worn by every outlaw in the western U.S. from the 1880's to the turn of the century!

 

[The Outlaw Kyle]

w00t!! Moonstone!

 

[The Librarian]

One question...

...how do I post pictures?
The insert image button asks for a URL. The pics are on my hard drive.

 

[Spellflower]

Since the FL does not "host" pictures, you'll first have to get them online somewhere else. Then you can link to them and they'll show up. A lot of people use a site called Photobucket. I've been using a different site, but I recently read in their EULA that I'm not really supposed to do that without making the pic link back to their site, and since that's a pain in the arse, I'm going to look into Photobucket too.

 

[The Librarian]

Looks like they're both from the reign of George VI

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/?action=view&current=GeorgeV.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/GeorgeV.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/?action=view&current=GeorgeVI.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/GeorgeVI.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

 

[Spellflower]

Great job on the pics, Librarian! :eusa_clap

As to whether they support the period accuracy of IJ's hat, I'm not so sure. It looks like the dates for those hats are 1939 through 1947. Certainly wide brims were in fashion in the 40's, but Indy was theoretically wearing his in 1935. I'm still not sold.

 

[Spatterdash]

Here's a link to Robert E. Howard's museum, the man who created Conan the Barbarian, Kull the Conquerer and Solomon Kane.

Halfway done the page is a GREAT photo of Robert in a fantastic fedora shortly before he died, which was early 1936.
Give Robert's hat a tight pinch in the front and that hat is almost Indyesque.

I love that fedora, The Barbarian/Pulp Writer/Weird Tales Fedora.

http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasPersonalities/Conan-in-Texas-The-Robert-E-Howard-Story.htm

 

[The Librarian]

I rise to the challenge...

Here are some more pics from earlier in time.Though it looks like small brimmed hats were the fashion 1934-1936, wide-brimmed trilbies were in fashion 1928-1934. Then in 1936-1939 the book shows trilby with a medium width brim. Then back to wide brimmed trilbies 1939-1943.

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/?action=view&current=2008-03-2016-08-14_0002.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/2008-03-2016-08-14_0002.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/?action=view&current=2008-03-2016-09-26_0003.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/2008-03-2016-09-26_0003.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/?action=view&current=2008-03-2016-09-26_0005.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/2008-03-2016-09-26_0005.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://s280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/?action=view&current=2008-03-2016-09-26_0004.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk175/The_Librarian_2008/2008-03-2016-09-26_0004.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Of course this is only one book. Can't possibly cover all the fashions of the various eras. Not that it matters. I love my Fed Deluxe just the same.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Give Robert's hat a tight pinch in the front and that hat is almost Indyesque.

I love that fedora, The Barbarian/Pulp Writer/Weird Tales Fedora.

Yep, love the hat. It's still more typical of the period than Indy's hat, though. 2-inch ribbon, and the brim is more like 2 1/4" or 2 3/8", maybe 2 1/2" at the most. Still narrower than Indy's. But that's the way I like it!

Brad