Movie Hat I Liked

[Not-Bogart13]

I remember an past thread about good hat movies, which was one of my favorites. In the spirit of that thread, I'd like to say that I just saw The Aviator with Leo DiCaprio. On top of being surprised by how good the movie was, I liked the hats! Does anybody know what DiCaprio is wearing through most of the film? Which is to say, what it actually was, and/or what it was supposed to be? I heard Stratoliner, but I'm not so sure. And in one scene I could have sworn I saw a black Miller Hats liner!

 

[Hemingway Jones]

I liked his hat also. I don't know who made it, but I do know that the real Howard Hughes wore a Herbert Johnson.

In the film, DiCaprio's hat is an interesting green with a brown band. I think it looks exceptionally good with his Hollywood Jacket.

 

[phre7]

It's interesting you should mention this.

This movie has been on my shelf since it came out on DVD. Yesterday was the first time I've had a chance to watch it. While I enjoyed the movie, I couldn't take my eyes off the hat. Hopefully someone knows the origin of this hat.

Who is/was Herbert Johnson?

 

[nicolasb]

Herbert Johnson is a centuries-old hatter in London, England. They are (in the opinion of many people) a mere shadow of their former selves these days. Like their equally famous neighbour James Lock & Co. they sell Cuenca panama hats stamped "genuine Montecristi".

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Well I'll be a...

...(you know te rest). It IS green! You know, I looked and looked at that hat, thinking, "it's not brown, it's not tan, it's not gray..." but it never dawned on my that it was actually green. I guess my brain doesn't expect green to look that nice.

Hey, phre7, since you have it on DVD (which I don't) maybe you could make out the lining or emblem on the inner sweatband by pausing and zooming in. You get a glimpse of both in the scene where Hughes comes home to Kate after the crash in the field, and he hurt his foot. I know it's a long shot, but maybe it will help in the quest!

 

[Twitch]

I must say that the movie was a big stimulus in my looking for a fedora like I had when I was in my 20s. Old things become new again? I liked the easy-going look that Hughes usually had in era photos with his hat but with casual clothes.

 

[Hemingway Jones]

...(you know te rest). It IS green! You know, I looked and looked at that hat, thinking, "it's not brown, it's not tan, it's not gray..." but it never dawned on my that it was actually green. I guess my brain doesn't expect green to look that nice.

I couldn't agree more. It really is a good look.
BTW, I am pretty sure that the liner of that hat is black; I'm not sure if that tells us anything. I have it on DVD, but I haven't paused it, but I did notice it in passing.

 

[phre7]

Not much help ...

Not-Bogart13, I went through that scene and a few others. I only found two times during the movie you could see inside the hat.

. The liner does seem black with a plastic cover. The logo and writing look silver (incl. the circle around them). However, I never could get a good focused capture on the logo. Someone with more experiance and/or a better program could most likely do better.
. At the MPA Censorship Board meeting he picked up his hat and placed it on his lap, under his coat. With the lighting in this shot you can see that the sweatband is a medium brown with gold trim. I went back to the other scene and found a glimpse of the gold trim while he was spinning the hat.

On the second disc there is a featurette called, Costuming the Aviator: The Work of Sandy Powel. I wonder if someone here might know her or one of the other costumers that worked on this picture.

nicolasb, Thank you for the information on the Herbert Johnson company.

I have an olive colored Stetson fedora with an olive ribbon that is in the top 5 of my favorite hats. However, this hat with it's brown ribbon has me ready to re-evaluate, or maybe just have a top 6 favorite hats.

Have a great day! ROY :cheers1:

 

[Not-Bogart13]

Check out www.imdb.com (and don't leave off the "www"). Then search for Aviator. It should provide info on costumers. Also, search Sandy Powell for more info on her!

 

[Not-Bogart13]

I think I found a connection

I bumped into what seems to be a website (from 2004) for Dave Brown Hats that includes a "testimonial" connecting them to Sandy Powell's work in the Aviator. The one shot I saw of the liner matches the one I glimpsed in the movie. Anybody know about Dave Brown Hats?

 

[SHARPETOYS]

I tried to buy a hat from him a couple years ago and we never connected. He is a member here at the lounge. Send him a pm I guess.

 

[Doh!]

Superhats!

It's not a movie, but I just picked up the first season of "The Adventures of Superman" on DVD and there is some swell '50s headwear on display in every episode.

I'm really starting to dig Clark Kent's gray fedora.

 

[Siirous]

There's two things we can take away from this picture!

1) That's a nice looking lid

2) He obviously had to remove it when he "transformed" because gray really clashes with blue spandex and a red cape; not to mention the aerodynamic issues of flying with a fedora! Talk about windcord necessities

 

[SHARPETOYS]

The hat above looks to small for his head.:cool2:

 

[Doh!]

This one's a MUCH better fit:

 

[Siirous]

Indeed, that is a far superior hat to the one that I posted!

Sincerely,
Rob

 

[Michael Mallory]

Chris Reeve's (rest his soul) hat IS too small for his head, because the films played Clark Kent as a real bonce, to contrast him with Superman. George Reeves (rest his soul) wore a fedora in much classier fashion, because if you really study the series (particularly the later seasons), you'll see that he appears as Clark much more frequently than he appears as Superman. There's actually an episode in which he never appears as Superman at all!

Steve Reeves (rest his soul) never played Superman, but rest his soul anyway.

 

[Doh!]

Now those are some dead-on (and witty) observations!

The more episodes of the '50s series I watch on DVD, the more I really want to get a gray lid like Clark's. Any ideas out there as to what he's wearing?

Thanks