Golding’s glittering career has seen the designer create one-of-a-kind pieces for the likes of the Duchess of Sussex and Lady Gaga. This led to Frenchman Antoine Gibus’ invention of the opera hat, or Gibus, a collapsible spring-loaded silk top hat.

Top Hats and Tails - Etsy UK Top Hats and Tails - Etsy UK

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 lustre and calculated to frighten timid people”. According to the British etiquette guide Debrett's, the central components of full evening dress for men are a white marcella shirt with a wing collar and single cuffs, fastened with studs and cufflinks; the eponymous white marcella bow tie is worn around the collar, while a low-cut marcella waistcoat is worn over the shirt. Black antique silk top hats are conidered the height of beauty and elegance because of their impressive shine, shape and lightness, which is second to none. The name derives from a time when weddings took place in the morning and gentlemen naturally wore their morning attire.

Brummel was an innovator in men’s fashions and a close friend of the Prince Regent, George IV (who became king in 1821). In a 1981 SCTV television skit, "Al's Sanitone Drycleaning", Eugene Levy sings the song and tap dances as he promotes the fictional company in a mock commercial. Lewis Carroll’s Mad Hatter is always illustrated in a topper, the manufacture of which probably sent him mad in the first place.

Tailcoats - Wedding Suits - Peter Posh Tailcoats - Wedding Suits - Peter Posh

One might see the Marchioness of Blandford in an elegant Philip Treacy hat; Caroline Sieber in a vintage Chanel skirt suit; and the Duchess of Roxburghe wearing a timeless pearl choker. In popular culture, the top hat is frequently comic, subversive or ridiculous – worn by such varied characters as Willy Wonka, stage magicians, steampunk cosplayers, the Fat Controller and Slash from Guns n’ Roses. In Freemasonry, as practiced in North American lodges, top hats are often associated with the position of Worshipful Master as he is the only member allowed the privilege of wearing a head covering to signify his leadership within the lodge. The rest of the hat "is left entirely without stiffening," and is kept in shape by ribs of any suitable material "fastened horizontally to the inside of the crown," and by an elastic steel spring from three to four inches long and nearly half an inch wide "sewed on each side of the crown in the inside in an upright position.During the 19th century, the top hat developed from a fashion into a symbol of urban respectability, and this was assured when Prince Albert started wearing them in 1850; the rise in popularity of the silk plush top hat possibly led to a decline in beaver hats, sharply reducing the size of the beaver trapping industry in North America, though it is also postulated [ by whom? While the dress coats were replaced by the frock coat from the 1840s as conventional formal daywear, top hats continued to be worn with frock coats as well as with what became known as formal evening wear white tie.

Top Hats | Oliver Brown, London Top Hats | Oliver Brown, London

Over this is worn a black double-breasted barathea wool or ultrafine herringbone tailcoat with silk faced peak lapels. Getting the balance right is difficult, which is why consulting a milliner is definitely recommended. In the past, top hats were made by blocking a single piece of wool or fur felt and then covering the shell with fur plush. This is because there are varying degrees of formality in different Lodges, from formal wear to everyday dress. In Sweden and Finland, a black waistcoat is worn with white tie for academic occasions in the daytime.The top hat also forms part of the traditional dress of Uncle Sam, a symbol of the United States, generally striped in red, white and blue. The invention of the top hat is often erroneously credited to a haberdasher named John Hetherington. 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 which Astaire wears a top hat with an elegance and panache to rival Brummel himself ( and famously dances with one too). Whilst black is sometimes thought of as more formal, any colour can be worn to finish a morning suit or tails, and worn to all occasions. The earliest top hat is often attributed to English milliner John Hetherington in a (possibly apocryphal) story in the St James’ Gazette in January 1797.