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A 'top hat' or 'top-hat' (sometimes also known by the nickname "topper") is a kind of tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat worn by men throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. Now, it is usually worn only with morning dress or evening dress, or as a specific popular cultural fashion statement.

Contents

History

Notable wearers

Top Hats in Fiction

Further reading

External links

History

The first top hats were made with felt, most commonly being beaver fur felt. Later, they would be made of silk. A popular version, particularly in the United States in the 19th century, was the 'stovepipe hat', which was popularized by Abraham Lincoln during his presidency. Unlike many top-hats, this version was straight, like piping, and was not wider at the top and bottom. Often they were taller than the typical top-hat.
In 1823, Antoine Gibus invented the collapsible top hat. Such hats are often called an "'opera hat'", though the term can also be synonymous with any top hat, or any tall formal men's hat. In the 1920s they were also often called "'high hats'".
In the latter half of the 19th century, the top hat gradually fell out of fashion, with the middle classes adopting bowler hats and soft felt hats such as fedoras, which were more convenient for city life, as well as being suitable for mass production. In comparison, a top hat needed to be handmade by a skilled hatter, with few young people willing to take up what was obviously a dying trade. The top hat became associated with the upper class, becoming a target for satirists and social critics. By the end of World War I it had become a rarity in everyday life. It continued to be used for formal wear, with a morning suit in the daytime and with evening clothes (tuxedo or tailcoat) until the late 1930s. (The top hat is featured as one of the original tokens in the board game Monopoly.)
The top hat persisted in certain areas, such as politics and international diplomacy, for several more years. In the newly-formed Soviet Union, there was a fierce debate as to whether its diplomats should follow the international conventions and wear a top hat, with the pro-toppers winning the vote by a large majority.
The last American president to wear a top hat to an inauguration was Richard Nixon. Gerald Ford was not inaugurated at the Capitol and Jimmy Carter abolished the use of morning dress for inaugurations. It was reinstated, minus a top hat, by Ronald Reagan but not worn by any later presidents to date.
Nowadays cheap imitations of top hats are made for white tie, as well as events calling for morning dress. They are usually made in the stovepipe style and with a flat brim as making it correctly would be too expensive. Top-hats are sometimes associated with stage magic. They also appear as a form of party hat and are popular amoungst persons in the Gothic subculture.

Notable wearers

★ Stephan Jenkins, lead singer of the band Third Eye Blind.

★ Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author and poet famous for his fairy tales.

★ Fred Astaire, American film star.

★ Marc Bolan, lead singer of the band T. Rex

★ Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a 19th Century British engineer.

★ Alice Cooper, Shock rocker

★ Rat Scabies, former drummer with The Damned

★ Marilyn Manson, rock and roll singer

★ Marlene Dietrich, being the first female to wear a top hat during her routines.

★ Dr. Demento, Los Angeles radio personality.

★ Magoo, former guitarist with the Anti Nowhere League

★ Duke Ellington, influential American Jazz musician.

★ Boy George, lead singer of Culture Club in the 80's

★ Raymond Griffith, silent film comedian.

★ Noddy Holder, lead singer of Slade.

★ Abraham Lincoln, sixteenth president of the United States.

★ Stevie Nicks, iconic singer/songwriter, both a solo artist and a member of Fleetwood Mac

★ John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil magnate

★ Jerry Sadowitz, provocative comedian and magician.

★ Slash, lead guitarist in Velvet Revolver and former member of Guns N' Roses, often wears a genuine antique hat modified with a home-made concho belt on it.

★ Screaming Lord Sutch, founder of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, a spoof UK political party.

★ Ville Valo, frontman of the band HIM

★ Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer

★ Jack White , Lead singer and guitarist of The White Stripes and The Raconteurs

★ Rob Zombie, Former lead singer of White Zombie

★ Raven, Professional Wrestler

Top Hats in Fiction

★ John Bull, a national personification of England and sometimes Britain.

★ Uncle Sam, a national personification of the United States.

★ Marlene Dietrich's character in the films ''Blue Angel'' and ''Morocco''.

★ Oddjob, a character from Goldfinger. In the novel, it was a bowler hat.

★ Professor Hinkle, magician in the TV special Frosty the Snowman, whose discarded top hat ends up bringing Frosty to life.

★ Rich Uncle Pennybags, the mascot for the game Monopoly.

★ The Penguin, one of Batman's enemies.

★ Ebenezer Scrooge, character in A Christmas Carol, is commonly portrayed on stage and film with a top hat in the early and final scenes.

★ The Mad Hatter, a character that appears in Lewis Carroll's ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''.

★ Scrooge McDuck, fictional wealthy Disney cartoon waterfowl.

★ Snidely Whiplash, cartoon villian from the Jay Ward's series Dudley Do-Right.

★ Willy Wonka, fictional chocolate factory owner created by Roald Dahl.

★ The Cat in the Hat, character of Dr. Seuss's book of the same name.

★ Chie Hallard, who uses it as a magical implement to fight with in the anime My-Otome.

★ Harpo Marx, one of the Marx Brothers.

★ Papa Lazarou, demonic circus owner from BBC comedy series The League of Gentlemen.

★ Tuxedo Mask, fictional superhero from ''Sailor Moon''

★ Sir Topham Hatt (The Fat Controller) from The Railway Series and Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends.

★ Top Hat from TUGS.

★ Hatter Maddigan in The Looking Glass Wars

★ Souseiseki and Laplace's Demon in Rozen Maiden.

★ The Intelli-Gent from Gaia.

★ Kris Wilson, current artist at Explosm

Further reading

★ Neil Steinberg, ''Hatless Jack - The President, the Fedora and the Death of the Hat'', 2005, Granta Books

External links

★ Berendt, John. "History of the Top Hat". International Formalwear Association.