Kevin Costner's hat in the Untouchables

[Pduck]

I've seen other threads that tell who made the hat, etc., but I'm wondering what currently available production hat most closely resembles Costner's hat? Brim and crown dimensions, color, style of bash, you know. I know about the custom hat makers, but I'm looking for something a little more accessible.

(BTW, what would you guess is the width of the brim?)

Thanks!

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

You would probably like the modern Stetson Chatham model very much. Caribou grey. Around $130 last time I bought one from Village Hat Shop but I see they've gone up in price (link below). You might shop around online for that model.

http://www.villagehatshop.com/stetson_chatham.html

For what it's worth, since I discovered how much more I personally like the connection to the past that actual vintage hats give me, I have bought no more new hats at these prices. I am a smaller size and get, in my opinion, better quality and, in fact, much better prices by buying relics. But for one who, understandably, prefers a new hat with the look you featured, I can't think of a better match than the Chatham.

 

[avedwards]

I'd have to agree with that. I have a Chatham in caribou grey and the colour and ribbon width seems about right. Brim seems nearly as wide as Ness'. But it's obviously not perfect, for example the brim snaps up too much at the back, although steam might be able to get rid of this.

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Good point, avedwards. I had forgotten about that severe flip in back. I did use steam to modify that. Here's how it looked after:

 

[gtdean48]

I really like the lid on Andy Garcia, especially with that jacket & vest rig. A Thin Ribbon so go figure![huh]

 

[HarpPlayerGene]

Agreed. I thought the same thing. Of all those actors, it's Garcia who seems to really know how to wear a lid.

 

[gtdean48]

Costner is trying so hard not to hide his pretty face! A slight breeze would have his hat on the ground in a second.

 

[jec]

Agreed. I thought the same thing. Of all those actors, it's Garcia who seems to really know how to wear a lid.

I agree, as well. But I wouldn't blame Costner for wearing his hat too high on his head; I would assume it was a choice the director made to give his character a more gentle and innocent look. Garcia's character is the epitome of cool and his hat and the way he wears it conveys that swagger.

We just saw this movie again recently and I sure enjoyed the lids more than I had when it first came out. I probably didn't even notice the hats back then.

 

[Pat_H]

I agree, as well. But I wouldn't blame Costner for wearing his hat too high on his head; I would assume it was a choice the director made to give his character a more gentle and innocent look. Garcia's character is the epitome of cool and his hat and the way he wears it conveys that swagger.

We just saw this movie again recently and I sure enjoyed the lids more than I had when it first came out. I probably didn't even notice the hats back then.

I also had the same reaction to recently seeing the film.

On the hat being pushed up, directors love to do that. I think they want to be able to shoot the actors face. An extreme example of that is Costner's Dances With Wolves, in which the hat disappears altogether after awhile. In the 19th Century, people kept their hats on when outdoors.

 

[RHY]

Chatham

I may have a spare one, but it depends on your hat size. Let me know.
RHY

 

[Pduck]

I may have a spare one, but it depends on your hat size. Let me know.
RHY

Thanks, but I just ordered one. (Timing is everything -- and I always miss!)

 

[avedwards]

On the hat being pushed up, directors love to do that. I think they want to be able to shoot the actors face.

I think modern directors don't like hats at all (except for Indiana Jones). In a lot of modern films set in in the 1920-60s they rarely have hats on the major characters. For example, the film "The Mummy" hardly has the character in a hat at all and that's set in the 1940s.

 

[WildCelt]

I think modern directors don't like hats at all (except for Indiana Jones). In a lot of modern films set in in the 1920-60s they rarely have hats on the major characters. For example, the film "The Mummy" hardly has the character in a hat at all and that's set in the 1940s.

My guess with "The Mummy" is that Indiana Jones is so firmly associated with fedoras in the public's mind, they didn't want to run the risk of looking like they were trying to mimic Indy.

 

[carldelo]

Hats make lighting an actor's face a problem. Looking at the stills, Connery (who knows how to wear a hat) often has a shadow around his eyes. The director of photography may have been the instigator of the hayseed angle on Costner's hat, to show his eyes unimpeded. And ditto the comments on Garcia, he's outclassing everyone in those stills. For us loungers, I guess a stylish hat stance draws much more attention than whether or not we can see the eyes of the guy wearing it....

 

[TopGumby]

I've always liked this movie, but I haven't watched it since I started "getting" hats. I'll have to watch it again. Interesting how the fedoras are flipped down in the back.

I'm sure that the wardrobe choices were dictated by what image they were trying to project. The Costner "tilted back" look is almost certainly done to give him the image of a lamb among the wolves. I'll have to see how Costner/Ness wears the hat in scenes later in the film when his character gets a little darker, like in the stairway shoot out.

Wasn't Nitty always wearing a white suit and hat?

I recall when it came out, one of the critical comments I read revolved around the likelihood of Chicago cops and Treasury Agents having the dough to support the kind of clothes they wear in that movie.

 

[Cigarband]

Andy Garcia in The Lost City

Check out all the great hats in Old Havanna in "The Lost City." A fine period movie.

 

[avedwards]

I recall when it came out, one of the critical comments I read revolved around the likelihood of Chicago cops and Treasury Agents having the dough to support the kind of clothes they wear in that movie.

I'm sure they were able to afford nice hats, everyone was then. And suits couldn't have been that expensive. And Costner's character only wears one overcoat.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I'm sure they were able to afford nice hats, everyone was then. And suits couldn't have been that expensive. And Costner's character only wears one overcoat.

Then as now, there were cheap clothes and expensive clothes. In the first few years of the Great Depression, few men were spending their cash on better-quality apparel.

(Incidentally, the U.S. menswear industry was one of the first --and one of the hardest hit-- victims of the Depression.)

.

 

[Pduck]

They may not have had any money during the depression, but everyone had a hat!

 

[HatFan]

For those of us that like flatcaps, 8 panels, etc. Sean Connery wears his well also in these pics.