Prime hats have been as soon as the “tops” when it got here to formal headwear, however they’ve since largely vanished. Why? We’ve recognized six key explanation why prime hats have largely disappeared from on a regular basis menswear.
1. Modifications in Silhouettes
The highest hat first gained reputation between 1800 and 1830, evolving from the sooner Sugarloaf hat. Its tall, structured kind and modern silk end complemented the frock coat, the dominant menswear silhouette of the Victorian period.
The taller the hat, the higher the status—resulting in the even loftier stovepipe hat, famously worn by Abraham Lincoln as a method to improve his statesmanlike picture.
By the early twentieth century, nevertheless, the lounge swimsuit changed frock coats as the usual of gown. With its shorter jacket and softer silhouette, the highest hat instantly appeared overly stiff and formal, making means for extra relaxed types just like the bowler and homburg.
Menswear Evolution: 1800 to Right this moment
2. Formal Gown Turned Much less Widespread
As menswear turned extra relaxed, the highest hat was step by step confined to formal gown codes.
By the Golden Age of Menswear (1920–1965), prime hats have been primarily reserved for white tie and morning gown, whereas the rise of black tie apparel, which didn’t require a hat, additional eroded its relevance.
A defining second got here when John F. Kennedy eliminated his prime hat throughout his 1961 inaugural handle, a second that symbolized the tip of conventional headwear as a necessity.
As formality declined in ‘on a regular basis’ style, the highest hat turned more and more uncommon, surviving solely in essentially the most ceremonial settings.
3. Prime Hats Are Tough to Manufacture
A part of the attraction of prime hats was their exclusivity. Every hat required exact bespoke craftsmanship, usually utilizing a tool referred to as a conformateur to make sure an ideal match.
Conventional prime hats have been constructed from a uncommon silk plush, a particular material that relied on lac bug shellac from India. Right this moment, this particular silk is not in manufacturing, making genuine classic prime hats extremely uncommon.
Most fashionable variations are constructed from wool or fur felt, however they lack the signature sheen and construction of their historic counterparts.
Even when obtainable, silk prime hats have been susceptible to fraying and cracking, requiring intensive care—one thing that turned more and more impractical as clothes traits favored sturdiness and ease of upkeep. With dwindling demand, silk prime hats turned rarities, turning well-preserved classic fashions into coveted collector’s objects.
Be taught the origins of informal model!
4. Prime Hats Have been Impractical to Retailer and Put on
Prime hats weren’t solely troublesome to make but in addition inconvenient to retailer and keep. Their inflexible construction meant they couldn’t merely be tossed on a shelf or folded away like a gentle felt hat.
Marcel Proust
In Search of Misplaced Time
In his magnum opus, In Search of Misplaced Time, Marcel Proust recounts how, within the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, males at social gatherings usually saved their prime hats on the ground as a result of there wasn’t sufficient desk house to accommodate them.
This widespread inconvenience led to the creation of the collapsible opera hat, also called the chapeau claque (named for the sound it made when opened) or the gibus (after its inventor, Antoine Gibus). The hat’s potential to fold down flat made storage a lot simpler at venues just like the opera or formal occasions. Nonetheless, the repeated folding and unfolding weakened the construction, limiting the hat’s sturdiness over time.
Transportation additionally performed a task within the decline of the highest hat. Within the horse-drawn carriage period, prime hats had ample headroom, however as cars developed, decrease ceilings made them impractical. Getting out and in of a automotive whereas carrying a inflexible, outsized hat was merely not handy for the fashionable man.
5. Clothes Turned Extra Equal
Within the nineteenth century, prime hats symbolized wealth and aristocracy, worn by businessmen, politicians, and members of excessive society. This affiliation with energy and status persists in the present day—in spite of everything, Wealthy Uncle Pennybags (the Monopoly Man) nonetheless sports activities a prime hat as a signifier of old-money extra.
Nonetheless, World Warfare I and II basically reshaped attitudes towards style. With wartime rationing and postwar austerity, folks prioritized practicality over ostentation.
Elaborate clothes that bolstered class distinctions—akin to morning coats, tailcoats, and prime hats—started to vanish from on a regular basis life. By the Fifties, black tie had largely changed white tie, eliminating the final frequent setting the place prime hats have been normal.
6. Folks Stopped Carrying Hats
For a lot of historical past, hats have been thought-about a vital a part of a gentleman’s wardrobe, however by the late Fifties and early ‘60s, this long-standing custom started to fade.
The Peacock Revolution of the Sixties and ‘70s additional inspired self-expression in style, steering youthful generations away from inflexible formalwear.
By the Seventies, even once-common types just like the fedora have been seen as eccentric, making the highest hat virtually extinct. From this level on, the common individual would solely see prime hats in:
Museum displays
Previous pictures of historic figures
Among the many very old school or members of ‘Previous Cash’ circles
Costumes worn by entertainers, magicians, and musicians
Cartoon characters usually depicted as rich, eccentric, or villainous
Can You Put on Prime Hats Right this moment?
The brief reply: Sure, however solely in the best setting.
A prime hat stays the right completion for correctly executed white tie apparel. It’s nonetheless worn in settings akin to:
Royal Ascot
Vienna opera ball
Japan & UK formal weddings
Scandinavian tutorial ceremonies
Throughout our Fort Belvedere Bash occasion within the fall of 2023, a number of visitors astounded us with their distinctive prime hats, proving that, whereas uncommon, they’ll nonetheless make a hanging assertion in the best setting.
Nonetheless, discovering an genuine silk plush prime hat is not any straightforward job. Nicely-preserved classic fashions—significantly in bigger sizes (7 ⅜ or larger)—can price tens of hundreds of {dollars}. Even collapsible fashions, like Raphael’s European classic discover, require effort to accumulate.
The place to Purchase Prime Hats
For these desirous to put on a prime hat in the present day, classic choices or collapsible opera hats provide one of the best probabilities. Listed below are some respected top-hat retailers to think about:
Lock & Co. Hatters (UK) – One of many world’s oldest hatmakers, providing luxurious fur felt prime hats.
Christys’ London – Nicely-known for his or her basic formal hats, together with wool felt prime hats.
Prime Hatters (Classic & Collectibles) – For these in search of genuine classic silk plush fashions, classic shops and public sale homes like Etsy, eBay, and Christie’s Auctions might have high-quality, restored items.
Styling a Prime Hat
In in the present day’s outfit, I’m, after all, carrying a prime hat. As talked about, it’s a classic collapsible mannequin that Raphael picked up at a classic retailer. To put on the highest hat correctly, I wanted to pair it with white tie. As such, I’m carrying a classic midnight blue tailcoat ensemble from across the late Nineteen Thirties to maybe the early Forties.
The ensemble is reduce with a real Golden Age silhouette, and the vast lapels on the jacket are confronted in silk grosgrain. The trousers are exceptionally high-waisted and have a single galon stripe down the aspect. Most of the remaining parts in my ensemble come from the classic replica model out of the UK, Darcy Clothes. These embody my formal night shirt with its stiff entrance, single cuffs, and removable collar, in addition to a lot of the {hardware} I’m carrying within the shirt, together with the cufflinks, shirt studs, and collar studs.
Additionally from Darcy Clothes is my backless white Marcella waistcoat and the studs inside it. I’m carrying a classic white linen pocket sq. in my breast pocket, and the rest of my equipment come from Fort Belvedere. These embody my self-tied white bow tie, additionally in Marcella (or piqué), my giant darkish pink carnation boutonniere, and my black silk over-the-calf socks.
Rounding out the ensemble in the present day are my classic opera pumps from Allen Edmonds. For perfume, I’m carrying “Quattro Roso” (or “4 Roses”) from the Roberto Ugolini assortment. Its spicy floral character pairs fantastically with night ensembles, and it doesn’t harm that the colour of the bottle harmonizes properly with the boutonniere I’m carrying.
For this perfume, the equipment I’m carrying, and a big selection of different basic males’s equipment—in addition to corduroy trousers and different fragrances from the Ugolini assortment—you possibly can check out the Fort Belvedere store right here.
Fort Belvedere
White Butterfly Marcella Pique Bow Tie
Fort Belvedere
Life-Sized Burgundy Carnation Boutonnière Flower
Fort Belvedere
Black Silk Formal Socks
Fort Belvedere
4 Rosso Cologne
Conclusion
Prime hats are a timeless however extremely area of interest accent. Whereas they continue to be a staple of white tie ensembles, their rarity and impracticality have made them extra of a collector’s merchandise than a sensible wardrobe addition.
Do you want prime hats would make a comeback? Do you personal one (or extra, like Raphael)? And do you ever get the possibility to put on one?
Tell us within the feedback under!
Continuously Requested Questions
Why aren’t prime hats worn anymore?
Prime hats aren’t worn anymore as a result of they’re extremely situational, troublesome to supply and keep, and will be very impractical to put on on a constant foundation.
Can I put on a prime hat in the present day?
Prime hats can nonetheless be worn on the most formal of occasions the place morning gown or white tie gown codes are nonetheless employed.
The place can I get a prime hat?
Trendy producers make wool or fur felt prime hats, however genuine silk plush ones are completely classic.
Is it bizarre to put on a prime hat?
Whereas prime hats are exceedingly uncommon to see and virtually by no means utilized in every day put on anymore, they are often fully applicable below the best gown codes.
Similar to the highest hat, many once-essential menswear staples have light from on a regular basis style. From wigs to waistcoats, model has developed for causes starting from practicality to social change. Discover extra of those fascinating shifts under!
