Dominant Duchess Ascot 2000
Courtesy of John Hills www.johnhills.com
HISTORY OF TOP HATS
JOHN CUGLEY
First Created
In 1797 by John (James) Hetherington, a haberdasher, in London.
Method
Took a standard beaver riding hat: made the crown taller and the brim narrower and covered it in silk.
Effect
Caused a riot the first time it was seen in London:
According to a contemporary newspaper "...passers by panicked, women fainted and children screamed" One boy had his arm broken by the mob in the rush Hetherington was hauled into court and given 6 months imprisonment!
Indirect Effect
Eventually the hat became so popular that it even affected the beaver trapping industry in America since everyone wore top hats.
Royal Endorsement
By 1850 Prince Albert was wearing top hats made of " hatters plush"
Heyday
The heyday was the 19th century when it was said that an assembled gathering of gentlemen looked like the chimneys of the Industrial Revolution.
Style
Heights and contours fluctuated with the decades:
English dandies went in for flared crowns and swooping brims the French wore outlandish top hats that there was no room for them in the cloakrooms and at the Opera so hence the collapsible top hat was invented in 1823. Different beast tho'
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