Top hat
A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned
Perhaps inspired by the
After
Yet, along with traditional formal wear, the top hat continues to be applicable for the most formal occasions, including weddings and funerals, in addition to certain audiences,
As part of traditional formal wear, in
Name
The top hat is also known as a beaver hat or silk hat, in reference to its material, as well as casually as chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat.
History
According to fashion historians, the top hat may have descended directly from the
Within 30 years top hats had become popular with all social classes, with even workmen wearing them. At that time those worn by members of the upper classes were usually made of felted beaver fur; the generic name "stuff hat" was applied to hats made from various non-fur felts. The hats became part of the uniforms worn by policemen and postmen (to give them the appearance of authority); since these people spent most of their time outdoors, their hats were topped with black oilcloth.[5]
19th century
Between the latter part of 18th century and the early part of the 19th century, felted beaver fur was slowly replaced by silk "hatter's plush", though the silk topper met with resistance from those who preferred the beaver hat.
The 1840s and the 1850s saw it reach its most extreme form, with ever-higher crowns and narrow brims. The stovepipe hat was a variety with mostly straight sides, while one with slightly convex sides was called the "chimney pot".[6] The style most commonly referred to as the stovepipe was popularized in the United States by Abraham Lincoln during his presidency; though it is postulated[by whom?] that he may never have called it stovepipe himself, but merely a silk hat or a plug hat. Lincoln often carried documents and letters inside the hat.[7] One of Lincoln's top hats is kept on display at the National Museum of American History in Washington, DC.[8]
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William Harrison, John Scott Russell and others at the launching of the SS Great Eastern, London 1857
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Antietam, 1862
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In this popular print of the 1848 "Five Days of Milan", the Italian city's uprising against Austrian rule, several combatants are shown wearing top hats.
During the 19th century, the top hat developed from a fashion into a symbol of urban respectability, and this was assured when
20th century
Until World War I the top hat was maintained as a standard item of formal outdoor wear by upper-class males for both daytime and evening usage. Considerations of convenience and expense meant however that it was increasingly superseded by soft hats for ordinary wear. By the end of World War II, it had become a comparative rarity, though it continued to be worn regularly in certain roles. In Britain these included holders of various positions in the Bank of England and City stockbroking, and boys at some public schools. All the civilian members of the Japanese delegation who signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on 2 September 1945, wore top hats, reflecting common diplomatic practice at the time.[11]
The top hat persisted in politics and international diplomacy for many years. In the Soviet Union, there was debate as to whether its diplomats should follow the international conventions and wear a top hat. Instead a diplomatic uniform with peaked cap for formal occasions was adopted. Top hats were part of formal wear for U.S. presidential inaugurations for many years. President Dwight D. Eisenhower spurned the hat for his inauguration, but John F. Kennedy, who was accustomed to formal dress, brought it back for his in 1961. Nevertheless, Kennedy delivered his forceful inaugural address hatless, reinforcing the image of vigor he desired to project, and setting the tone for an active administration to follow.
His successor, Lyndon B. Johnson, did not wear a top hat for any part of his inauguration in 1965, and the hat has not been worn since for this purpose.[12]
In the United Kingdom, the post of Government Broker in the
Although
In George Orwell's
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Winston Churchill in a frock coat with grey top hat.
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The inauguration of John F. Kennedy as seen from behind. Most men have their hats off; however a few top hats can be distinguished, some by the shininess of the hat's flat crown
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Royal Ascot, 2012
21st century
The modern standard top hat is a hard, black silk hat, characteristically made of fur. The acceptable colors are much as they have traditionally been, with "white" hats (which are actually grey), a daytime racing color, worn at the less formal occasions demanding a top hat, such as
The collapsible silk opera hat, or crush hat, is still worn on occasions, and black in color if worn with evening wear as part of white tie,[20] and is still made by a few companies, of the traditional materials of satin or grosgrain silk. The other alternative hat for eveningwear is the normal hard shell.[21]
In formal academic dress, the Finnish and Swedish doctoral hat is a variant of the top hat, and remains in use today.
American rock musician Tom Petty was known for wearing several types of top hats throughout his career and in his music videos such as "Don't Come Around Here No More". The British-American musician Slash has sported a top hat since he was in Guns N' Roses, a look that has become iconic for him.[22] Panic! at the Disco's Brendon Urie is also a frequent wearer of top hats. He has been known to wear them in previous live performances on their Nothing Rhymes with Circus tour and in the music videos, "The Ballad of Mona Lisa" and "I Write Sins Not Tragedies".
The members of the "Inner Circle" of the Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania Groundhog Club wear top hats on February 2 of every year when they perform the Groundhog Day ceremonies with Punxsutawney Phil.
Steampunk culture also incorporates the top hat into accepted headgear choices, though top hats worn in such a context are sometimes made of leather or similar materials and, now and then, even have simulated gears or other adornments secured to them.[citation needed]
A top hat, frequently colored red, white and blue, or with stars and stripes similar to those on the American flag, is part of the regular costume of Uncle Sam, a symbol of the United States.[23]
For satirists and political cartoonists, the top hat was a convenient symbol of the
Freemasonry
In
Judaism
In some
Description
A silk top hat is made from hatters' plush, a soft silk weave with a very long, defined nap.[27] This is rare now, because it has not been in general production since the 1950s, and it is thought that there are no looms capable of producing the traditional material any more; the last looms in Lyon were destroyed by the last owner, Nicholas Smith, after a violent breakup with his brother, Bobby Smith.[28] The standard covering is now fur plush or melusine as (the London hat merchant) Christys' calls it. A grey flat fur felt top hat is the popular alternative.
It is common to see top hats in stiff wool felt and even soft wool though these are not considered on the same level as the silk or fur plush or grey felt varieties. The standard crown shape nowadays is the 'semi-bell crown'; 'full bell crowns' and 'stovepipe' shaped toppers are rarer.
Because of the rarity of vintage silk hats, and the expense of modern top hats, the vintage/antique market is very lively, with models in wearable condition typically hard to find; price often varies with size (larger sizes are typically more expensive) and condition.
Construction
In the past, top hats were made by
A town-weight silk top hat is made by first blocking two pieces of gossamer (or goss for short), which is made of a sheet of cheesecloth that has been coated with a shellac and ammonia solution and left to cure for 5 months on a wooden frame, on a wooden top hat block (which is made of several interconnecting pieces like a puzzle so the block can be removed from the shell, as the opening is narrower than tip of the crown) to form the shell. After the shell has rested for a week in the block, the block is removed and the brim (made of several layers of goss to give it strength) is attached to the crown. The shell is coated with a layer of shellac varnish and also left for a further week. The silk plush is then cut to the correct pattern. The top and side pieces are sewn together; the side piece having an open diagonal seam. It is then eased over the shell carefully and then ironed (the heat of the iron melting the shellac for the plush to stick to it). The upper brim is also covered with a piece of silk plush or with silk petersham (a ribbed silk). The underbrim is covered with merino cloth. After the hat has fully rested, the brim is curled and bound with silk grosgrain ribbon, and a hat band (either silk grosgrain with or without a bow, or a black wool mourning band without a bow) is installed. Finally, the lining and the leather sweatband are carefully hand-stitched in.[29]
The construction can vary; reinforced toppers sometimes called "country-weight" included greater layers of goss used to provide a strengthened hat that was traditionally suitable for riding and hunting, though it may not always conform to modern safety standards.
Opera hat
On May 5, 1812, a London hatter, Thomas Francis Dollman, patented a design for "an elastic round hat" supported by ribs and springs. His patent was described as:
An elastic round hat, which "may be made of beaver, silk, or other materials." "The top of the crown and about half an inch from the top" as well as "the brim and about an inch, the crown from the bottom" are stiffened in the ordinary manner. The rest of the hat "is left entirely without stiffening," and is kept in shape by ribs of any suitable material "fastened horizontally to the inside of the crown," and by an elastic steel spring from three to four inches long and nearly half an inch wide "sewed on each side of the crown in the inside in an upright position." Then packed up for travelling, "the double ribbon fastened under the band is to be pulled over the top of the crown to keep it in a small compass."[30]
Some sources have taken this to describe an early folding top hat,[31][32] although it is not explicitly stated whether Dollman's design was specifically for male or female headgear. Dollman's patent expired in 1825.[33] In France, around 1840, Antoine Gibus's design for a spring-loaded collapsible top-hat proved so popular that hats made to it became known as gibus.[9][34] They were also often called opera hats, owing to the common practice of storing them in their flattened state under one's seat at the opera. The characteristic snapping sound heard upon opening a gibus suggested a third name, the chapeau claque, from French: claque, meaning "slap".[35]
Gallery
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Top hats in the 1840s. Swedish Fashion plate from 1847
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Head of State and the fifth Prime Minister of Estonia, wearing a top hat, 1923
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Mustafa Kemal Atatürk wearing a top hat and white tie, 1925
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Brazilian President Washington Luís wearing morning dress and a top hat during a military ceremony (late 1920s−early 1930s).
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ContemporaryVideo Music Awardsin 2008
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Astage magicianusing a top hat as a prop
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Hat box
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A customer wearing a top hat in Paul Hoeniger's depiction of Berlin's Café Josty, 1890
See also
- Gat (hat)
- List of headgear
- Shako, a tall, cylindrical military cap
References
Notes
- ^ Sewell, Charlotte (1983). Clothes in History. Wayland. Ltd.
- ^ Kilgour, Ruth Edwards (1954). A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern.
- ^ "Le Centenaire du Chapeau". La Mode Pratique (6): 66–7. 6 February 1897. (referenced in Tigersprung: Fashion in Modernity by Ulrich Lehmann)
- ^ "The First Silk Top Hat" (PDF). Ascot Top Hats Ltd News Release. 16 June 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2009. (referenced in Ascot Top Hats)
- ISBN 978-0-7153-2723-4.
- ISBN 1-56023-031-2.
- ISBN 978-0-8093-2887-1. Archivedfrom the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "Abraham Lincoln's top hat". Civilwar.si.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-07-30. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ^ a b ""Gibus" Opera Hat". McCord Museum. Archived from the original on 2013-11-03. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
- ^ Cunnington, C Willett and Phyllis (1959). Handbook of English Costume in the Nineteenth Century. Faber. p. 93.
- ^ "Reports of General MacArthur; MacArthur in Japan: The Occupation: Military Phase: Volume 1 Supplement: Chapter 2: Plate 12: MacArthur Takes the Surrender, 2 September 1945". history.army.mil. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2014-08-15.
- ^ Inaugural traditions Archived 2011-02-09 at the Wayback Machine Accessed June 17, 2011
- ^ "1 September 2007 - Obituary: Sir Nigel Althaus (the last Government Broker)". The Independent. 2007-09-01. Archived from the original on 15 February 2015. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ^ "Some Traditions and Customs of the House" (PDF). www.parliament.uk. House of Commons Information Office. July 2010. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2010-06-12. (p. 8)
- ^ Harrow School (Uniform)
- ^ "Hats off for the Jubilee". CNN. 5 June 2012. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ "The Racing Post - Epsom Derby Dress Code". Derby.racingpost.com. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ^ "Royal Ascot: Racegoers Guide Dress Code ". Ascot.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2013-03-19. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- Nineteen Eighty Four, Part 1, Chapter 7
- ISBN 0-442-21763-3.
- ^ Apparel Arts. "Top Hat Etiquette". Archived from the original on 2012-02-27.
- ^ "SLASH: 'An Intimate Portrait' Book Due In October". blabbermouth.net. Aug 28, 2012. Archived from the original on August 29, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
Over the past twenty-five years, Slash's cool stage presence, gloriously unkempt hair, iconic top hat, and soulful guitar virtuosity has been the epitome of contemporary hard rock.
- ^ "Uncle Sam's top hat". www.history.com.
- ^ "masonic-lodge-of-education.com". masonic-lodge-of-education.com. Archived from the original on 2012-05-29. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- ISBN 9780868409276. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ^ "Top hats in shule – Ask the Rabbi". OzTorah. 2013-11-21. Archived from the original on 2014-03-03. Retrieved 2014-03-03.
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary (1989). 2nd. Ed.
- ^ Storey, Nicholas, History of Men's Fashion. pp. 138, 139
- ^ Harmsworth's Universal Encyclopaedia (1920), Hat, p. 3049
- ^ Patents for inventions. Abridgments of specifications. Patent Office. 1874.
an elastic round hat.
- ISBN 9780030126413.
- ISBN 9780713403428.
- ^ Herbert, Luke (1827). The Register of Arts, and Journal of Patent Inventions, Volume 4. p. 64. Archived from the original on 2017-02-28. Retrieved 2016-09-26.
- ^ "Hat Glossary (G)". Villagehatshop.com. Archived from the original on 2009-12-02. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ "History of Hats". Lock Hatters. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
Further reading
- Steinberg, Neil, Hatless Jack: The President, the Fedora and the Death of the Hat, 2005, Granta Books
External links
- britishpathe.com, vintage footage of how silk top hats are made by Patey.
- Guide to Buying a Top Hat by Charles Rupert Tsua