Top hat (headgear)
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- For the movie starring Fred Astaire see Top Hat
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 1800s and early 1900s but which are now usually only worn with morning dress or evening dress. The first top hat was made by John Hetherington in 1797, however, the hats only became popular in the 1820s. Top hats were very common as they were worn by men for business, social events, and pleasure.
Image:Slash-guitar.jpeg They were made from stiffened felt made from beaver fur and later, due to the influence of Prince Albert, from 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.
Later on, top-hats were sometimes given an internal hinged frame, making them collapsible. Such hats are often called "opera hats" or "Gibus(ses)", though the term can be synonymous with any top-hat, or any tall formal men's hat.
Top-hats are sometimes associated with stage magic.
President John F. Kennedy was the only President of the United States to wear a stovepipe hat to a presidential inauguration. The last 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 they are still the required headgear for white tie, as well as events calling for morning dress.de:Zylinder (Hut) nl:Hoge hoed pt:Cartola sk:Cylinder (klobúk) sl:Cilinder (pokrivalo) fi:Silinterihattu sv:Cylinderhatt