A ghostly epitome of elegance

"The brute covers himself, the rich man and the fop adorn themselves, the elegant man dresses!"

-Honore de Balzac

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Costi
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Wed Apr 12, 2006 8:36 pm

Flying saucer?...

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A black hole!?... :)

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Royal by birth, majestic by distinction...
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… the silk collapsible top hat, of course.

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A venerable centennial piece of headwear, still going strong!

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The strange-looking conformateursneeded to shape rigid hats (conjuring a chimerical image of an “offspring of a homburg and a manual typewriter”, as they have been described) are museum pieces these days and so obscure that they may give rise to the most hilarious interpretations.


I wonder… does anyone still make these masterpieces today, or is it just another “extinct species”?
JamesT1
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Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:00 pm

Your last link was very interesting. It makes me wonder about all those ancient tools found in archiological sites, and how wrong we may have been in assuming their usage. Due to the fact that this "ancient device" had been assumed to be everything from an astrolabe to a musical instrument to some kind of biological tool.

James
leiter
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Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:48 am

I've a collapsible top hat from Oberwalder on Karntnerstrasse in Vienna about two years ago. It's invaluable for traveling.

Off topic, there are a whole bunch of interesting shops with friendly and knowledgeable people around the opera house in Vienna. The area is well worth a visit.
Incroyable
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Thu Apr 13, 2006 9:59 pm

I understand that the traditional silk used for top hats is no longer made.

Apparently the last remaning factory, located in France or Belgium, threw their machines into a river.
Étienne
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Fri Apr 14, 2006 10:05 am

Incroyable wrote:I understand that the traditional silk used for top hats is no longer made.
That was also what I heard, but if there is somebody out there still manufacturing those, I would be curious to know about it (central Europe maybe?).
TVD
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Fri Apr 14, 2006 6:45 pm

There is a big difference here: the top hat is non-collapsible, and made out of silk plush, which indeed is no longer available. The collapsible opera hat is still being manufactured. I believe there is somebody in the Black Forest doing them. It is covered in a different fabric.
Incroyable
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Sun Apr 16, 2006 6:06 am

I find it interesting how most of the top hats are being manufactured by shops in what would be called Central Europe.

Aside from England, of course.
ccffm1
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Fri Apr 21, 2006 12:43 pm

TVD wrote:There is a big difference here: the top hat is non-collapsible, and made out of silk plush, which indeed is no longer available. The collapsible opera hat is still being manufactured. I believe there is somebody in the Black Forest doing them. It is covered in a different fabric.
I think the firm TVD is referring to here might be aleisa:

http://www.aleisa.de

I have to admit that their website is not particularly appealing; there is no English version either. But to say it in a nutshell: They claim to be the only manufacturer left still producing collapsible top hats made of shellac, satin and silk rep.
ConstableENGEL
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Sun May 21, 2006 9:20 am

I think Guerra hats still makes silk plush top hats because you can use such silk shag and not have to resort to the highest quality of fur felts such as mole skin or black beaver but other types of beaver and fur can still be done in a silk plush as far as I know. Anyways its still going to be very expensive.
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