THE HIGH or TOP HAT – SIZE MATTERS!
The “high hat” or “top hat” as it is also known, is a cylindrical, typically made of silk and often black hat.
High hats have been a male symbol of high status in Victorian Britain. Today, the top hat is often a caricature of the upper-class privilege it once represented.
The earliest high hat is often attributed to English milliner John Hetherington by an article dated January 1797. Hetherington’s first public outing in the top hat caused a riot, and he was later charged for “having appeared on the Public Highway wearing upon his head a tall structure having a shining luster and calculated to frighten timid people”.
With time, the top hat was dubbed the “beaver” as its felt was made from beaver’s soft under hair, which was mainly imported from North America. Making a top hat, however, was often lethal for hatters since mercury was used throughout the process of transforming beaver fur to felt. Prolonged exposure of hatters to mercury frequently led to mercury poisoning that affects the brain and nervous system; this was apparently the origin of the idiom “mad as a hatter”. The mercury-poisoned mad hatter was immortalized in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Fortunately for beaver populations, by the 1830s, beaver under hair became démodé as the silk or velvet top hat appeared.
Top hats grew popular in the 1920s when members of the bourgeoisie began wearing it as a symbol of urban elegance in the face of expanding industrialism. in the wake of European colonialism, the top hat also spread to the colonies where it also became a male status symbol.
Eventually, hat checkers had to be introduced at theatres and opera, as top hats grew very tall – up to 30 centimeters high – making it impossible for theatregoers to view the performance through the thicket of toppers. This led to collapsible form of the top hat. The first collapsible form of the top hat appeared in 1812, but it was perfected by the French inventor Antoine Gibus in 1840.
The top hat fell out of favor in the early 20th century as slowly more casual styles of headwear started making their everyday appearance.
The top hat’s swan song may have been Ginger Rogers’ and Fred Astaire’s 1935 film of the same name, one of the most famous of the duo’s performances.
In some popular cultures, the high hat is frequently comic, subversive or ridiculous while in others, it is still considered the appropriate accessory for special events.
BACK TO THE ROOTS
This photograph depicts king Moshoeschoe I (1790-1870), founder of the modern state of Lesotho. In some of his photos, he appears wearing a European suit and a top hat. The purpose of wearing this attire was to be regarded as an equal by his white opposites in negotiations.
However, when not surrounded by top-hat wearing westerners, the king would have opted for a more habitual choice. The conical grass hat known as mokorotlo is considered to be part of the national dress of Lesotho. The mokorotlo is also featured on the country’s flag.
During the 1950’s political figures adorned themselves with these hats in an attempt to link themselves with Lesotho’s traditional power structure, the chieftainship. By wearing these hats at rallies the politicians contributed to their growing popularity. A factor which accelerated the emerging importance of the mokorotlo in Lesotho was its association with the country’s founder, king Moshoeshoe.
A more fashionable version of the famous Lesotho hat can be seen in the 1954 fashion show featuring beachwear by Jacques Fath, named “Fashion gets a black eye”. The shot was taken by a photographer of Greek origin, Stephane Tavoularis.
