Creating the Hat of a Hero
Before hatmakers Herbert Johnson joined the House of Swaine, they were situated at 13 Old Burlington Street in London. In 1980, costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis began to design the hat that would sit on the head of a hero.
Mr. Steven Spielberg was on the brink of making Raiders of the Lost Ark, the very first Indiana Jones film, starring Harrison Ford. Nadoolman Landis's hat would be pivotal to the character and the plot, and Herbert Johnson was delighted at having been chosen to create what was to become the famous iconic Indy hat...
When it came time to create the subsequent sequels, Herbert Johnson were proud to step in once again working with costume designers Joanna Johnston and Anthony Powell to create another batch of custom ordered hats for filming ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple Of Doom’, 'The Last Crusade’ and most recently ‘The Dial of Destiny’
The hat of a Villain
The tremendous success of the original trilogy Indiana Jones films have secured their place in popular culture forever and just like our original poet, the hero Indy Poet is ageless and enjoys an enduring popularity to the day.
The same can be said today perhaps for the formerly less notable hats from the films, including 'The Seaplane' and now 'The Major' styles which are increasingly enjoying a popular allure due to their rarity and having universal style appeal for everyday wear.
The Major style is inspired by the hat Herbert Johnson Hatters provided for the film character of Major Arnold Toht, the secondary antagonist played by actor Ronald Lacey in Spielberg's iconic 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' film. It cannot be denied that some of the great movie villains exude style and sophistication. This hat represents the ultimate in the kind of slick style and presence you would expect worn by the most devilish of ne'er-do-wells.
Originally crafted from black fine rabbit fur felt with a black ribbon band and brim binding, these timeless hats are now completely handcrafted to order for each customer by the highly skilled hatters at Herbert Johnson. Now available in both rabbit and beaver felt options.
Discover the full story of our brands collaboration with this iconic film franchise here in our Journal : https://herbertjohnson.co.uk/blogs/journal/hat-of-a-hero
For this product, please follow the following sizing advice...
Place the string or tape around your head above your ear and across the mid forehead, completely circling your head. Hold the tape firmly, but not too tightly. Measure your head exactly where you want the hat to sit. It may help to either do this in the mirror or have someone to help for accuracy. Measure in centimetres. If your measurement falls between sizes, round up to the nearest half centimetre and/or email your exact measurement to our team and they will be happy to advise you. For more information view our Info pages, FAQs or contact our team for advice.
A professional measuring service is also available at the SWAINE London Burlington Arcade store.
Whenever possible, online orders are fulfilled from pre-handcrafted stock. If the Client wishes to order something which varies in any way from the standard options provided in the product listing (such as this model in a different colour, size or with the addition of some custom ribbon-work etc.), their order will need to be placed as a ‘Custom’ order. Please contact us for more information about our Bespoke Range.
Custom embossing is only available on selected products.
If the Customer wishes to add custom embossing to their order, please select this option on the product listing where available and add your text as you would wish it to appear. Please choose a maximum of 4 upper case letters (Times New Roman Font available only) at £10 per letter. You can also include up to 3 dots and 1 dash in addition at no extra charge. Additional information or preferences can be added to the Notes Section for your order at checkout.
We offer a choice of foil and position on the sweatband (check each product for corresponding standard options or enquire for further information). Should you wish to enquire about any other format of embossing including a preference for gold, silver or blind embossing instead, please contact us.
Please note that any custom changes made to our products that differ from our standard listing, including custom embossing, will mean that this item will not be eligible for return or refund under normal circumstances. Please refer to our Returns Policy for more details.
All our hats are handcrafted to order or for stock from only the finest sustainably sourced materials here at Herbert Johnson. We work closely with our fur felt hood suppliers in Portugal, choosing only the highest quality fur felt which is ordered to our exacting specifications.
All our felts are preshrunk during the blocking stage to avoid later shrinking as much as possible. Our rabbit is pounced to a smooth finish and a coating of protector is applied to prolong its resistance to the elements. Whilst not as dense as our beaver fur felts, our rabbit makes a very fine quality fur felt hat.
Our Indiana Jones styles include our true grosgrain Indy ribbon which is accurate to the original film hats, still produced to the same specifications for us and woven by the very same machines.
This product will be handcrafted to order or for stock by our specialist hatting team at Herbert Johnson. Please Contact Us by email to check our current lead time for this product.
- Lead times are variable depending on our current volume of new orders being received and the availability of our supplies.
- Please note that our handcrafters fulfil orders on a first come first served basis.
- When new orders are received at our Hatting Workshop, they are entered into our production schedule in the next available position in the queue.
- Once your order reaches the front of the queue, it will take approximately 7-14 days to be handcrafted to order by our specialist hatting team at Herbert Johnson.
- The wait time for our handcrafted hats is a minimum of 8 weeks but please be aware that this can be subject to change and could be 24+ weeks in particularly busy times.
- The wait time for our handcrafted custom bespoke orders may be longer depending on what materials & supplies may need to be especially ordered in to fulfil the order.
- If you would like to enquire about the current expected lead time for your order or prior to ordering, please contact enquiries-hj@herbert-johnson.co.uk
- If you are hoping to order your hat for a particular event, please ensure you make your order in plenty of time prior to your deadline (at least 8 weeks prior is recommended). Please inform our hatting workshop directly if your order is time sensitive and we will do our best to accommodate you
- Our hats are carefully packaged in simple white hat boxes (or special edition hat boxes if included or ordered separately) within a cardboard postal box for dispatch internationally.
- We ship worldwide with DHL.
- We calculate delivery costs based on the weight/dimensions of each product and country to which the item is to be shipped.
- Postage costs may be included in the purchase price for some items.
- See FAQs page for further information.
- All prices shown on our website are inclusive of UK VAT.
- VAT Tax will be removed automatically at checkout for eligible international orders.
- If you are ordering from outside of the UK please expect your local customs office to charge Duty and Tax at the applicable rate for your country.