New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-21
THE PARABLE SILK hat.

When n man once contracts the habit of wearing
n high silk hat nothing will ever break him of IL.
HIS bank account may, it were, deteriorate, and
his other clothes grow a little shabby and drop n
season or two behind the style, but he will still
cling 10 the silk hat. Indeed the hat itself may
drop back TO the year-bcfOre- last shape and give
the wearer a strange, Rip Van Winkle-like ap-
pearance, yet he will not descend to any other
sort of head-covering. But this is the exception
usually he will continue to wear silk hat and
keep up to the latest style as well, whatever the
consequences may be. Time was that when a
man bought silk hat he felt certain of its re-
naming in style several months at least, but this
time is past; the shape OF the silk hat has become
more variable than the stock narket-t shifts
with the wind, and occasionally when the wind
gets tired and stops; you buy the latest thing to-
day and tomorrow you find that the best-dresScd
men are wearing something quite different; the
hat you proudly wear to the theatre may be all
out Of style TO come home with. 1t seems no
more than right that the young man who has not
vet contracted the stoveppe-hat habit should be
warned
Where silk hat styles originate IS a mystery.
Though they seem to spring up and bloom in the
hatter's window, like the flowers by the way.
side. such cannot be the case-were It so it would
species. Some man, remarkable for his versa
tility, must be kept very busy somewhere de-
signing the new shapes What manner of man
he is no one knows. Even his name is unknown.
He may live in Paris, or London, or New-York-
no one knows which. But he is an artist; that
is certain and when he decides shape
we all go around to respective hatters and
get IT, lie is an absolute monarch, and there
is never a whisper Of rebellion. When women do
ANYTHING of this kind it is weakness but in the
case of men it is quite another thing. though we
arc not altogether prepared to say what it is.
OF course there are individual cases Of rebellion
against the dictates Of this unknown autocrat
of the silk hat. 1t occasionally happens that
strong-minded man refuses to buy the January
shape or the October shape, clnging to the De-
cember shape or the September shape, as the case
may be; but after he has while inadvertently
pausing on the edge Of the side
walk, been requested to drive his
cab up around here' by gentleman
looking for carriage, he has usually surrendered
and secured the latest shape. liackmen are the
only persons privileged to wear past shape ana
not lose their standing in society. The CAD
driver can wear rubber sub over his hat during
the day and play football with it at night and
retain the respect Of everybody, No one else con
do this.
Perhaps some time an adjustable silk hat will
be invented which can be made into any shape
Then the peculiar style can be shown IN
diagram in the morning paper along with
the weather forecast and the wearer
can adjust his hat and go downtown
with the consciousness Of being in the latest
stvle. Till then the wearcr of the silk hat Will
have 10 he content with keeping as near to the
latest thing he can.