Tall: The History of the Top Hat

[@Kid_illithid]

Imagine being some old guy in a tricorn hat. Then some young dude in a top hat comes up and you think to yourself, geez I hate these insufferable hipsters.

[@tedecker3792]

I chuckled out loud at that!

[@Mopartoolman]

That's how I feel when I see some guy with his hat on backwards!!!!!!!!!!!!😁😁😁

[@Kid_illithid]

@@Mopartoolman I’m working out with my ball cap on backwards right now. I’m so sorry. He keeps the hair and sweat out of my eyes. And then when it’s sunny out, I turn it around.

[@mtnvalley9298]

Thanks for your efforts. So much fun, every time!!

[@maryd9331]

Looks great with the tuxedo! My hat of choice for a man, however, is the classic fedora of the 30's through '50s. 😊

[@janlindtner305]

I once saw a drawing of how the cabin of a Critroen 2CV was designed. Four top-hatted men placed close together on ordinary dining room chairs And then you see the soft curved lines of a 2CV seen from the side and voilà the smooth 2CV was created. Nice lecture and nice to have new hat stories back on the program. By the way, in Europe the hat is called "a Cylinder"👍👍👍

[@theequalizer9154]

I do agree that whatever hat a man is wearing, you can tell the time a photo was taken. I do also collect men's hats, and Military covers. To add, the stovepipe hat that Lincoln wore to Ford's Theater is on display at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. I recall it was on display.

[@bcase5328]

I heard Lincoln's wife complained that Lincoln used his hat as a writing desk.

[@gusmc2220]

0:26 dashing!

[@atheistpower5659]

Hats off to you History Guy for making such a good video on this topic !

[@tomobedlam297]

We live in the era of the baseball cap. It would be worth an episode looking into how it has become so ubiquitous and for decades now.

[@MistbornPrincess]

Probably they were cheap and easy to make? Also the proliferation of baseball in the 1930s/great depression.

[@Ben-bg2lp]

I always thought it caught on because magicians were the rockstars of the era.

[@dennisboulais7905]

Very interesting episode. If I still worked I would consider wearing one to the office! Every engineer should have one.

[@Bill-cv1xu]

Slash stole his Top hat,self admittedly 😮

[@RoverIAC]

I hate wearing hates, except maybe a cap if I need too.... but I too have a collection of hats including a 1916 German helmet, an extremely big sombrero, my grandfathers bowling club hat, my great-grandfathers ship's captain cap and a heap of other ones not counting several bags full of caps.

[@Buie144]

You covered this one ! Great job!

[@annaleabrown4588]

If anyone has ever met Townsends in person!!!! He's so tall and thin and that top hat he wears is spectacular!

[@raztaz826]

Also commonly seen in Packers Peanuts logo, The Penguin (Batman), St Patrick's day leprechauns, Jeeves & Wooster, Sir Topham Hat / The Fat controller (Thomas the Tank Engine).

[@HM2SGT]

5:01 *In the 19th century it was usual for fire departments to be comprised of volunteers. These groups got paid for putting out fires and multiple groups would rush to the scene to be the first and therefore the ones that got paid. This lead to many incidents of fisticuffs, battling to see who would get the plum prize while the building burned down! I think I may recall on the scene to this effect in the film Gangs of New York*

[@JarrodFrates]

THG has an episode on that very topic.

[@JarrodFrates]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6qkfGWwh856d7Msi=sQex1-bGh6OjBCm3

[@HM2SGT]

@@JarrodFrates I had forgotten. I first read about it about 20 years ago when I was given a gift of a book about the history of FDNY

[@LilYeshua]

Captain Picard in Star Trek TNG wore one in an episode

[@fearthehoneybadger]

Since most of these were worn by people of means, the working classes often referred to the upper classes as "toppers."

[@edwardparkhurst9804]

Always have time for history class video. Thanks for sharing this with us that watch your channel.

[@skyden24195]

Japanese delegates wore top hats when signing the Japanese Instrument of Surrender on September 2, 1945.

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson.

[@Nicksonian]

The decline of the hat has accompanied the decline of formal attire. Today, you see people getting on airplanes wearing shorts and a T-shirts, or eating in expensive restaurants in jogging suits. If they wear a hat, it’s a ball cap. How, well, classless. There was a time when men of all classes wouldn’t be caught outside without a hat.

[@sexyshadowcat7]

the ball cap still does the job of a hat, the fact that it doesn't have a brim on the back allows it to be used in a wide variety of sports and allows you to sit comfortably in your car with your hat on. Formal attire is trash, it lacks utility and comfort, that's why people have stopped wearing it. You try walking around in a suit everyday in 40c heat.

[@johnc2438]

But at least they are wearing "designer" jogging suits!

[@VeryDryBones]

And the world is better for it

[@RobertJarecki]

It's nearly 20 years since I retired from a university and it was about 25 years ago that it became marginally acceptable for [mostly female] students to use "pajamas" as daytime attire. My black fedora and black opera hat see very little use these days.

[@Nicksonian]

@@VeryDryBones How so? Society has degenerated into a bunch of slobs. They don’t care about how they look or how anyone else seems them. As a result, more people act like slobs. It has something to do with empathy which has largely evaporated from the pathologically entitled younger generations.

[@pberg-NC]

Wow! What a great and informative video!

[@isaacwilson5768]

7:40 I didn't realize Lincoln WASN'T wearing his top hat on the Penny! Though, it would take up like half of it, i bet we could easily mint a special Penny including this iconic piece of his history he wore.

[@heidiedelman6840]

This was so interesting! Thanks! And I loved the ending when you showed your hat and how it flattens!

[@MaxStax1]

As straight and smooth as his top hat he showed was, I'd have never guessed it was collapsible. I was wondering if he would mention Slash's hat, I wasn't disappointed.

[@bigjay875]

Hard to believe that people of that time were so simple as to be wiped up to rioting over a hat!

[@Albeetrosss]

It kinda reminds me of how some schools act about kids wearing hats in class. They say it's a distraction but usually no one cares or notices until the teacher makes a big deal about it as if the kid is in a gang and is going to incite violence

[@halo7oo]

They weren't, it was a fake story made 100 years later.

[@JamesDunn-sk2sj]

Leather top hats were popular in the U.S. Midwest and West. Some folklore claims that the 10 gallon hat was made by combining the sombrero with the top hat.

[@ruthm.6071]

Look at any kids dance recital today. There's bound to be a group of tap dancers wearing top hats and often carrying a cane.

[@danielsee1]

The Top Hat was invented by the beings from Remulak.

[@rabbi120348]

That's what he said - it started in France. "We are from France!"

[@DocLaw172]

Having once been a police officer, I prided myself on my skills in observation. However, I am wincing now as I realize that I looked at Top Hats as all being of one style, when in fact, as you have shown, there are many. Frankly, now I would like to have one to go with my Tricorn.

[@phillycardshark9257]

Excellent informative video... Thankyou.

[@john_in_phoenix]

THG looks outstanding in a top hat! Well done sir.

[@Nicksonian]

Was it acceptable to wear a hat indoors? Today, men think nothing of wearing the now ubiquitous ball cap indoors. I was taught, way back in the 1960s, that men should remove their hats when they enter a building. I have been puzzled, however, watching movies from the heyday of the fedora and other hats, that actors would continue wearing hats during indoor scenes.

[@livelaughlove669]

I think its because most of the people directing and in charge of costumes are too young to know the old hat rules. I know that men wouldn’t wear hats in doors like 30 years ago and earlier but i tend to have more niche knowledge that is not as well known for my generation or younger. I think the only place that still has hat rules constantly is the military.

[@Nicksonian]

@@livelaughlove669 I’m talking about films made in the 1930s, when everyone was wearing hats. It’s not uncommon to see actors like Humphrey Bogart wearing a fedora inside.

[@thebaronofbelco2615]

Gday Mr History Guy, mate I’m intrigued, what is a few of your favourites from your collection? (Notice I used the plural as I know it’s very very hard to choose just one from a vast collection of favourites haha) I too collect Hats, it started because being a Red Head in Australia can be a real health Hazzard haha, so it started there as a young teen, I am now 53. I collect various styles etc but I especially hunt for vintage early models of our Australian made Akubra Hats, including the Aussie Military. I even have a mini Akubra for my little Jack Russell named Dr Watson! Do you have any Akubras in your Collection? Anyway mate, love your Channel, I’ve been a subscriber from early on, and have learned so much from you since. Stay Safe, and I hope you have a great new year. Cheers

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

I am not good with favorites, but I do have two- a Bilby and Bowler- that I got at Lock and Company, the world's oldest hat shop, that I enjoy. Most of mine are antique or vintage, so I don't wear them.

[@dguy0386]

it's not every day that i make a plate of pasta and immediately find a good video to watch while eating it, but today is one such day! huzzah, bravo history guy!

[@FasterDrivers]

Laziness, our eternal companion.

[@ThinWhiteAxe]

I have a couple top hats because I love the Marlene Dietrich look, but they're night impossible to incorporate into everyday wear. For a daily hat, i like a flat cap.

[@omegapuschel]

It's clear that you are absolutely delighted at the end of the video. Seems like you had a great time making this video

[@VikingTeddy]

Looking good! I'd accompany you too the theater.

[@ericoswald2279]

Love the collapseable hat!

[@drgunnwilliams8239]

Many an enemy has been faint at the sight of a Scot wearing a Glengarry charging them!

[@jonrettich-ff4gj]

You might look towards Persia or India for tall stiff headgear or the shaki a version of military headgear coming out of Eastern Europe with and without brim. Sartorial overstatement seems to be a frequent part of the human condition. Your collapsed top hat is a mechanical marvel to me. Invariably entertaining and interesting

[@aaronchristman6627]

I enjoy your videos thank you!

[@bronwynecg]

Good morning , professor! 👋🏽 😊

[@PhilipDeLong]

One common use of the top hat is in Freemasonry-- the top hat is still commonly used is lodges by the presiding officer, the "Worshipful Master." He is required to wear a hat, while the others in the meeting are bare-headed. Although often any hat will do (as with anything to do with Masonry "it's jurisdictional"), the top hat is traditional.

[@markrothenbuhler6232]

Top marks for this episode on top hats.

[@kenheise162]

The top hat is the hat of choice for magicians.

[@subnormality5854]

THG video about the Ghastly Gibus? Nice.

[@JeremiahsFiles]

I’ve recently watched the Fred Astaire movie Top Hat, & I first saw Fred wore a top hat with his white tie & tails in the 1951 movie Royal Wedding. I’ve also seen Mickey Mouse wear a top hat with his tuxedo, Fred Astaire & silent movie stars like Charlie Chaplin inspired Mickey. I also have a Big Bird plush in a tuxedo & I got a Build A Bear top hat for my Big Bird plush.

[@CHAS1422]

On another subject, I have a theory about Harpo Marx, that he chose his stage name based on Harpocrates, the Greek/Roman/Egyptian god of silence.

[@johnc2438]

0:05: You many not be able to explain completely why you like hats and collect them, but my wife could (she's a lovely Filipina): "White men are weird! I know, because you've made me weird, too! It's your fault!" Have loved getting this feedback for almost half a century, now! 😁

[@CraziestofHistory]

Imagine calling it hairdress, and getting your arm broken because no one seen it before

[@goodchessactor]

Also the formal Japanese surrender aboard the USS Missouri in 1945 was signed by Japanese diplomats in top hats.

[@TUKByV1]

7:03 I see what you did there.

[@J.A.Smith2397]

Tks

[@wolver73]

What next? The bow tie?

[@shelbybrown8312]

Good morning and I tip of the hat from Chicago heights Illinois

[@kraneiathedancingdryad6333]

Today is my birthday too! Although I'm not as old as the top hat, I'm getting up there! A video just in time for my birthday, I consider that a gift 😁

[@GeorgeCaserta]

I didn't know the Opera hat was a real thing

[@RobertBancroft-fo8bz]

Is the still photo of the gent in the top hat which is the cover of this episode your Grand dad, or Great grand dad? There is some resemblance.

[@orbyfan]

Sherlock Holmes buffs know that Charles "Carle" Vernet was a relative of the great detective.

[@crispincain5373]

JFKs inaugural is the last presidential inauguration where top hats were worn.

[@Guitcad1]

One issue with tops hats now is that most men seem like they don't know how to wear one.

[@gonavy1]

Tip of the hat to you.

[@fredwood1490]

While civilian hats are, usually practical, military hats in history seldom are. I suppose the idea is to make it easier to see your men and distinguish them from the enemy and breed a kind of comradeship of suffering among the troops and maybe protect those heads a little bit. But by far the most absurd things people put on their heads were the military hats of the past. At least until the Ladies got into the race, after their amazing hairstyles fell out of style.

[@MultiPetercool]

Bald men like myself have kept the hat alive. My favorite is a Harris Tweed Deerstalker I bought in Edinburgh. 😉

[@kurtvanluven9351]

Stovepipe.

[@josef56]

I own and wear a beautiful New York Silk top hat. As reprising President Theodore Roosevelt it is highly appropriate!

[@Richard-r1x7d]

Oui yes

[@vanroeling2930]

I personally prefer a good Panama hat!

[@bubbabubba2013]

I've seen some young men today wearing Derbies.

[@billallen8998]

Dear THG, Big hats are sexy. Sincerely, North Korea

[@alanabbott4214]

What hat does the History Guy where ?

[@bubbabubba2013]

I believe he's a man of many hats. 😊😊

[@bubbabubba2013]

And his next video will be about... Bow Ties. 😊😊

[@DeconvertedMan]

They exist to pull rabbits from.

[@Jezeppi1]

Great 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@ericbeattie761]

I thaught beaver😮

[@Tarinankertoja]

in Finland you get Tophat and a sword when you got your Phd kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmrbqKifmbl_m5Y

[@MolonFrikenLabe]

I was only disappointed in that you did not mention A Clockwork orange.

[@HM2SGT]

That was a bowler, not a top hat

[@tomobedlam297]

​@@HM2SGT Yes, like Charlie Chaplin.

[@MolonFrikenLabe]

@HM2SGT you are correct!