The Secret of Indiana Jones' Hat4723982

You want Indiana Jones' hat.

You don't have any reason except...nicely, you want 1. If you lived 75 years ago, it wouldn't even be a query: of course you'd personal a hat. And you'd feel naked if you left the home with out it.

After all, just look at it! The sharp brim. The distinctive shape. The flavor of class and dignity that comes with that 1930s style.

Ah, the fedora!

But, in an age of superstores, low prices and lower quality, where does 1 obtain such a factor of beauty?

For me, the answer was obvious: why not contact the man who made Harrison Ford's hat? Marc Kitter, along with his companion Steve Delk, hand-produced all the fedoras used in the newest Indiana Jones film, "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull".

Bernie Pollack, costume designer for "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" contacted Kitter. "He'd been told that that Steve and I had specialized ourselves on the Indy fedora and wanted to know if we could answer some questions. After quizzing us on brim widths, crown heights, ribbon width, fur high quality and many other particulars, Pollack asked us for some samples. We sent in a number of sample hats and could do absolutely nothing but wait."

According to Pollack, Spielberg had been worried. "Ah, I'm so relieved he [Spielberg] said. I lost sleep questioning if you would be in a position to come up with the perfect hat."

Kitter stated, "But, after a test shooting with Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg, the dream came accurate and we got the order. My wife went on holiday and we started creating hats up to 18 hours a day."

Eighteen hours a day? If that sounds like a lot, it helps to know what goes into creating a real Indiana Jones fedora. The very best fedoras are produced from fur-felt, by no means wool. In reality, the highest quality fedora is produced from beaver.

It's a long and difficult procedure. The fur is manipulated, treated and transformed into actual "felt", arguably the toughest fabric known to man. (The fibers are interlocked and arranged in every possible path making it nearly not possible to tear.)

"The pure beaver felt used on my hats are specially made to my specs from a conventional manufacturer. This is the highest density felt I've ever worked with and that adds to the durability of the final hat. We even add water-repellant to the felt throughout the manufacturing procedure." From there, the best fedoras are hand-crafted more than a wooden block. "Wooden hat blocks have the benefit of letting the felt "breath" while it dries on them. This is one of the many details that isn't usually visible but prove valuable in the long haul."

Ironically, one of the most important pieces of a high-quality fedora might be something that you seldom see: the sweatband. Since this is the only part of the hat that actually touches the wearer's head, having the right material ensures comfort and durability.

Kitter's hats use exclusive sweatbands produced from kangeroo hide the hides are traditionally tanned by a family-owned company in Australia. From there, they're reduce and turned into the most shrink resistant leather sweatbands available, recognized and loved by clients all over the globe.

Detailed info on Indy's Brown Fedora  can be found on the main website.