What is the purpose of a top hat?
In popular culture, the top hat has been identified with the upper class and utilized by satirists and social critics as a symbol of capitalism or the corporate world, as with the Monopoly Man or Scrooge McDuck. The top hat was also used as a ceremonial headdress by certain Native Americans. The top hat was originally designed for use by military officers during peacetime. It became associated with them because they were the only group who could afford to buy them. The top hat was first made in 1855 by Thomas Henry, who sold nearly all his production that year. Today's modern version of the top hat is usually made from black cotton velvet with a flat crown and straight up-and-down brim. However, other materials have been used in the past including silk and straw. The top hat has become one of the most recognizable symbols of authority and status within society. People wear top hats for many different reasons. They may wear a top hat to a formal event such as an award ceremony or ball. Some choose to wear a top hat every day while others only wear them on special occasions. Some artists include pictures of people wearing top hats in their paintings while others use the hat as a metaphor for history's great leaders or even hypocrisy.