The Indiana Jones Fedora
Eerie blades of sunlight peeked through cracks in the cave ceiling high above him. With a tattered map in hand, Indiana Jones brushed cobwebs from his path and paused to adjust his trusty brown fedora. More than just a piece of clothing, this well worn hat had been with Indy on many adventures. Across distant lands, steamy jungles, snow covered mountains, and scorching desert heat, this fedora was a part of his identity.
How people even noticed that this key element of Indy's look changed from film to film? Shrouded in almost as much mystery as some of Indy's adventures, are the specific details of the fedoras he wore in these films. Once again, our intent is to present only the most reliable and relevant information regarding what the items were and where to get them (or as close as possible) today. Read below and click on the collage thumbnails to learn more for yourself.
"Raiders Of The Lost Ark"
The iconic fedora worn by Harrison Ford in "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" was a throw back to hats worn in older adventure films as well as the periods they were based on. More of a dress style hat than the typical safari styles worn by English explorers of the 1920's and 30's, it was medium brown in color, made of rabbit felt, and had had a taller crown than many hats of the period. Supplied by Herbert Johnson of London, this particular brown fedora had a 5-1/2" tall crown with straight stove pipe sides, wider than standard-dimensionally cut brim (widths varied from 2-3/8" to 2-5/8" while front and back measurements seemed pretty consistent at 2-7/8"), and a very dark brown 1-1/2" grosgrain ribbon. The front pinch height measured 4-1/2" which arched down to a slightly lower height at the rear pinch point. For general perspective reference, Harrison Ford wore a hat size very close to 7-1/4.
What really helped to make it unique, was the tight front pinch and deep front dents when compared to other fedoras or other safari/field hats. With the exception of the first part of the opening Temple scene, the hats throughout the movie were actually worn with the brim slightly turned to the right. Doing so actually moved the bow on the ribbon slightly in front of the ear rather than directly over it. This caused a warped look in the brim and was one of the key elements to the unusual creasing done to the hats in "Raiders". The overwhelming favorite of Indy fans, the look changed throughout the film, but managed to keep it's trademark style along the way. Indy also wore a gray travel fedora with his suits, both on the seaplane trip to Nepal, and while standing on the government building steps with Marion, at the very end of the film.
"Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom"
When "Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom" came out, the model of hat chosen for "Raiders" was no longer available. So, Herbert Johnson substituted their rabbit felt, Borsalino made "Poet" model which had much more tapered sides and a slightly shorter looking crown. Stetson also secured a seat at the fedora table and provided a number of hats for the film as well.
The looks changed throughout the film as a result. None were worn turned, and all had a much softer front pinch than the "Raiders" hat. This lackluster attempt at re-creating the "Raiders" look seems to be least popluar series of Indy hats, though the style still has it's fans. The general look was there and most people never looked twice at something that is so obvious, once you begin to compare things.
"Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade"
"Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" brought the Herbert Johnson "Poet" model back into the fold once again, using the familiar medium brown rabbit felt. Though not as tall or as straight sided as the "Raiders" fedora, it was a definite improvement to the more tapered shape of the "Temple of Doom" hats. The brim dimensions appeared to be the stingiest yet, with most as narrow as 2-3/8" and with more of a cowboy style curl to them.
The overall shape of the hats was more of a classic fedora style with almost no front pinch at all. The side dents appear to extend farther back than ever before and give off a slightly more dressy look. Once again, no turn was incorporated into the creasing/shaping. Again, the general Indiana Jones look was achieved and most people never noticed anything different.
"Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull"
The fedoras for the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise were hand made creations from a fan based company called Adventurebillt Hat Co. Consisting of two skilled hatters, commited to producing the finest Indy fedoras and other vintage style hats using old world methods and superior materials, Marc Kitter and Steve Delk secured their place in movie history. Inspired by the Raiders fedora, they produced hats with straight sided crowns and for the first time in the series, beaver felt was worn by Indy instead of rabbit felt. The original "Raiders" dark brown grosgrain ribbon was used as well.
The desired look was specified by the the costumer for Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull; Bernie Pollack, and was to continue the "Last Crusade" look. Using a more straight sided block and better crown to height ratio, the result was more of a hybrid between "Raiders" and "Last Crusade". However, no hats were turned for the film, leaving much of the unique style back with the original look of "Raiders" once again. Though they tried their best to have it included, the turned look was not carried over to this hat either, leaving the "Raiders" fedoras as the only versions to use this classic styling technique.
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