A question about The Shadow's hat...

[Prop-Maker]

So I've been thinking about a new costume and I just saw The Shadow on TV. Everything else I can find one way or the other, but the hat... I've not seen anything like it so far. It looks like a black Fedora but with a very large brim. Has anyone made a replica? Are there any hat makers who can whip one up at a reasonable enough price?

Picture from the film.

 

[Hermes]

OH, boy! Isn´t THIS a thread to follow with great interest?

 

[Prop-Maker]

Indeed. I've found a few hats I could possibly modify to get the look, but they just don't look right. From what I can tell, it looks like a customized Fedora.

 

[Hermes]

Customized indeed, I may be wrong, but I have never seen such a wide-brimmed Fedora outside the movie or the comic-books...

 

[Zeppo]

While not quite as wide, I ended up reshaping a cowboy hat for mine

 

[ReturningSon]

I forgot the guys name but he is the original maker of the hats but only makes cowboy hats now. He also made the Robert Redford "Roy Hobbs" Fedora in the natural...it will come to me eventually!

 

[Prop-Maker]

While not quite as wide, I ended up reshaping a cowboy hat for mine

Zeppo, ya look great, sir! May I ask how you did reshaped that hat?

 

[darthgordon]

Yeah, to me it looks like a fedora but with a very wide brim. I doubt that it was a found item. Modifying an existing fedora might be difficult. What about taking a wide brimmed cowboy hat and reshaping it to look more like a fedora?

 

[Prop-Maker]

The more I look at it, the more I believe it was a custom job, throwing any hopes of having a replica made on the less expensive side out the window. I've found a few hats that look like they might work with a little modification.

Most notably the Tilley style hat like this one.

Then I saw this, making it a no-go.

I could, however, cover the top to hide the zipper. Not sure how to do it without making it obvious.

I came across one of my dad's reprodcution 1860s slouch hat (he's a civil war reenactor) that looks like it might work, but the brim is really tough to shape.

 

[Zeppo]

Zeppo, ya look great, sir! May I ask how you did reshaped that hat?

I spent about an hour with the hat and a steaming kettle. Just run the portions of the hat you want to reshape over the steam for a bit, then reform it with your hands, and hold it for a few minutes until it cools/dries and it'll hold the new shape. I have a licensed Shadow hat that I used as a reference for the shaping. Why didn't I just wear that you ask? Because it's grey.

 

[Darth Mule]

There is a company called hatcrafters (www.hatcrafters.com) that will do custom orders based on existing styles. They're inexpensive and fast. You'll probably drop less than $100.00 on something like this. It's just a pinched fedora with maybe a 5-6" brim (just guesstimation). since it's an unfinished brim, you can always get it as big as possible and cut back (tho they will cut a nicer edge than you will).

Just be prepared to give detailed info from hat size, to band color, to brim width, etc.

 

[Prop-Maker]

Thanks, Darth Mule!

The approximate $100 mark is exactly the price range I was looking for. Not too much, but not too little either, especially for custom work! I'll head over there right now.

I wonder, does he wear a cape or is it a large trench coat?

 

[WinstonWolf359]

I've seen some black wool fedoras on eBay that have pretty wide brims. It might not exactly match the film fedora, but it would certainly get you into the Shadow magazine cover ballpark.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-BLACK-FEDOR...oryZ2998QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Darth Mule]

Thanks, Darth Mule!

The approximate $100 mark is exactly the price range I was looking for. Not too much, but not too little either, especially for custom work! I'll head over there right now.

I wonder, does he wear a cape or is it a large trench coat?

Come to think of it, you could probably email them a pic. Linda is really nice and easy to work with.

And it looks like a cape to me. Is that a peacoat he's wearing? Or just a double breasted jacket?

 

[Jpdesign]

It’s a double breasted wool overcoat

 

[Jpdesign]

I have made the hats before. Rabbit or beaver dress weight, brim up to 3 Inches, can sometimes get 3 1/4. Any bigger it needs to be a western body.

 

[Jpdesign]

Sorry, didn’t realize this thread was so old.

 

[Prop-Maker]

Glad you replied, anyway, though. I'm still very interested in doing this, so if there are any new avenues to take, I'd be glad you hear about them.

 

[DesertDan]

Hello. You may be interested in a thread on the Fedora Lounge regarding this hat.
The Shadow's Fedora...

But basically you will need a black, high crowned western hat with a brim of at least 3.5" to 4" (Stetson, Resistol & Akubra are some makers). There is some belief that it may have been modeled on an old cavalry slouch hat. An open crown of 5" to 6" is a necessary starting point if you are replicating the original pulp-era hat with its exaggerated crease and pinches. The ribbon on the original is narrower than the one used on the hat in the Baldwin movie.

Great hat.
Good luck.