The Holmes Fedora

[Lefty]

I don't remember all of it, but I started with what's down the page a bit here and on the next page.

 

[Yeps]

Sorry for the threadomancy, but another thread popped up which could help to explain this mystery. Unless I am mistaken, the movie takes place some time int he 1890s. Well, another thread, http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=47775 , shows a catalog from 1890 and in it there is a hat called "the Fedora" which looks just like Holmes's hat and only came in black. So, it could be period, even if it was a fedora.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Sorry for the threadomancy...

Don't be sorry. Threadomancy is actually encourage on the Lounge.

Brad

 

[randooch]

Enough about the hat . . .

. . . how was the movie?

 

[gtdean48]

. . . how was the movie?

I liked it... entertaining, RDJr made it humorous with Jude Law as his straight man. I'll get the DVD

 

[dr greg]

nonsense

I thought it was a load of old cobblers personally, but very entertaining in its own right. I'm not a Holmes fanatic, but I have read them all and vastly prefer the Jeremy Brett incarnation, however, this is a Hollywood picture people, and they had him in contemporary situations fighting Nazis and stuff back in the 40's as I recall, so is what Guy Ritchie's done really worse than that?

 

[Joeyeah_right]

Enjoyed the movie.

I really enjoyed the film - Great fun, and set up nicely for a possible sequel.

To be honest when I heard that Guy Ritchie was to be directing a 'Holmes' movie i thought "Oh no! It's going to be awful!", but after seeing the trailer for the film it intrigued me and made me want to watch it and I wasn't disappointed at all. Robert Downey Jr is excellent in the part, as too is Jude Law (who I didn't actually recognise as being him until I saw the credits at the end).

I suppose if you care about accuracy in terms of the books then you will be disappointed, but if you just want to enjoy a good, fun, well acted film then I would definitely recommend it!

 

[chippy]

Apparently when given to Downey's he beat and bent it [homburg] till it looked like it did in the final film.

Here's where I am adamant. There is NO WAY this statement could be true. No amount of beating or bending is going to take the curl out of a Homburg. Here is where I object.
.

although completely at odds with the information given to Zendragon (below), it would appear you are correct (assuming my letter is correct) in not being persuaded Art.

Lock & Co have written me and stated that they supplied hats to the 'cast' and 'crew' and the hat worn by Mr R Downey Jr in the film is the LE Superfelt hat.

According to Lock & Co, its made with beaver felt, dark grey or black, brim is welted 2 1/4" and crown is approx 4 1/2" down to 4" at front

Some interesting new info... which I am not sure if they are on the mark with their response.

From Lock and Co:

"Dear Keith
Sorry, I told you the wrong hat.
It is actually our Dark Grey Homburg but the brim has been "played around with"!
The film actually premiered in London last night and one of my colleague tells me, that he wore the hat to the premiere.
Regards"
http://www.lockhatters.co.uk/Fedoras__Homburg___Pork_Pie-Homburg-P58.aspx

Now I am just not seeing it as that, but here is a shot from the premiere in London.

 

[Yeps]

If it does not have the brim roll, it is not a Homburg. There are variations of brim rolls but a flat brim has never been a Homburg option to my knowledge. Once it is flattened, it is no longer Homburg.


Here's where I am adamant. There is NO WAY this statement could be true. No amount of beating or bending is going to take the curl out of a Homburg. Here is where I object.

Jimmy, in the picture I see the sides still seem to hold their curl albeit in slighter form. Is this a true pic and my eyes are right? If so, this is what I would expect to achieve using a huge amount of steam and pressing for all I'm worth. Please note, the sides are still curled in this hat and NOT in the Downey hat.In fact, the Downey hat seems to have a downward curve, not upward. Is it possible? sure, with the right equipment, huge steam, and more talent than I have. Please note that the Downey hat brim seems to be relaxed into the shape it is where in the pic of JtL's lid it seems stressed, especially at the front and at the brim break on the sides. The stress comes from the binding and isn't displayed in Downey's hat. This is probably the biggest reason I don't believe this started life as a Homburg. That stress is virtually impossible to get rid of.

All of that being said please let me say that I have nothing invested in being right here and really don't care. I'm just trying to have bad information, if it is, not being read as "fact" just because I ( or any other hatter) didn't dispute it. I've often seen incorrect info become "common knowledge" for this reason alone.

I know I am bringing up an old debate, but I just watched the movie again and have taken the curl out a homburg recently.

I will not debate that the hat in the movie is not a homburg, that seems rather evident. But I think that that it could have been one at some point.

I found it rather easy to take the curl out a homburg with just a little steam and working by hand to soften it. I think that this looks a lot like the hat in the movie.

Also, in my most recent watching, I noticed that the brim was very bumpy and uneven and looked like it was behaving a lot like my brim.

 

[The Lark]

Lock & Co have written me and stated that they supplied hats to the 'cast' and 'crew' and the hat worn by Mr R Downey Jr in the film is the LE Superfelt hat.

According to the Lock & Co website this hat is listed as neither homburg nor fedora, but is in fact a trilby.

 

[chippy]

According to the Lock & Co website this hat is listed as neither homburg nor fedora, but is in fact a trilby.

yeah i noticed that as well, i figured it must just be a case of "I say tomartoe, you say tamaito" type thing

perhaps in Lock & Co eye's it is in fact, technically a trilby, but to R Downey Jr , internet folk and Americans in general they like the sound of calling it a Fedora better [huh]

 

[cptjeff]

Trilby is often used interchangeably with fedora. I think the main difference is that fedora is restricted to felt, where trilby covers other materials as well in it's definition.

But yeah, same thing. Trilby is a pretty distinctly British term though, so I'm not surprised Lock & Co uses it.

 

[chippy]

Trilby is often used interchangeably with fedora. I think the main difference is that fedora is restricted to felt, where trilby covers other materials as well in it's definition.

But yeah, same thing. Trilby is a pretty distinctly British term though, so I'm not surprised Lock & Co uses it.

i tend to go along with you, ...but... it would seem Lock & Co do make a distinction between them..in my correspondence to them this came up as well as they do in fact sell a Fedora to, their Chelsea model hat, 2 1/2" brim 4 1/2 to 5" crown, larger shaped...

As i understood it the distinction they make between it (a Fedora) and a Trilby is a Fedora has a broader crown (less taper) and wider brim and gives the overall appearance of a larger shaped hat

 

[reetpleat]

I think I can shed some light on the issue here. When I saw the movie, I immediately spotted what I think is the "look" they were going for. There is acertain style from the 30s or 40s which is a black hat worn this way. there is afamous italian opera singer who has a famous photo in such a hat worn this way, ascot, etc. I have seen the look described as a bohemian artist kind of look. It involves a black soft hat, like a borsalino, worn in an intentionally casual way, with the front brim up and the back down, as if you do not care how it looks, but also giving it a certain pirate captain, cavalry officer flair. You see similar soft felt black hats on classic "godfather" stereotypes. Softer and flimsier than the classic american style. It gives a european, bohemian, even cavalier (literally) flair, and i am pretty convinced that this is the look that the costumer wass going for with this particular outfit for Holmes.. So, while I can not tell you if it would have been at all possible in this year, or if it was ever a homburg, which I doubt. but I can explain why the costumers would have chosen to use this hat for the character, even if it were not exactly period.

 

[MontresorSioku]

although completely at odds with the information given to Zendragon (below), it would appear you are correct (assuming my letter is correct) in not being persuaded Art.

Lock & Co have written me and stated that they supplied hats to the 'cast' and 'crew' and the hat worn by Mr R Downey Jr in the film is the LE Superfelt hat.

According to Lock & Co, its made with beaver felt, dark grey or black, brim is welted 2 1/4" and crown is approx 4 1/2" down to 4" at front

I'm new to the site, and this thread is why i joined.

I think i have found a similar fedora! The fedora i just bought cost me about 140. Its very nice felt and from Stetson. Its black. The crown is 4" and the brim is only 2"...i was so shocked when i found out that im 1/4th of an inch less than the actual fedora..:/

Sorry for the "teen"ness of the picture. I cant really make the brim look like how battered and how part of the front part of the brim curls up and has a "bumpy" effect. My hat is new, so it either curls up to the "default" new out of the box way, or the "downturned" brim. ANd yes. those are Ozzy glasses.

 

[TheLimey]

Reviving an old thread, can anybody tell me what the hat is that Watson is wearing in The film? Thanks in advance.
Cheerio.

 

[Sam Craig]

Let's not get too awfully carried away, gents.
It is a movie and it is filled with historic inaccuracies, just like any other movie.

By the way, you don't survive explosions, like the one at the dock in the first movie, either.
That's why they put this stuff in the movies ... cuz in real life it would KILL YOU!

It is a neat looking hat, but you can pick a lot of holes in Holmes' costuming from a historic standpoint, if that is what gets you happy.

Sam

 

[Doug C]

Dang it! I've read this whole freakin' thread and still don't know where to get a hat that looks really really close to RDJr's Sherlock Holmes hat. I don't care about whether it was period correct for the story or what it may have started life being called. When I first saw it, I thought.. "Borsalino" because it looked really soft and flexible, almost flimsy and reminded me of a Borsalino that I had that was like this. Hey MontresorSioku what's the name or model of that Stetson you got? ~ Doug

 

[MCrider]

Dang it! I've read this whole freakin' thread and still don't know where to get a hat that looks really really close to RDJr's Sherlock Holmes hat. ~ Doug

I'd say go to Falcon Park Hattery. Hit his announcements page and there you have it. A good looking replica of the Holmes hat!

 

[m0nk]

I'll second that. His version is as close as you're going to get without calling up RDJ.