The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-06-27
HIS MAJEsTY'S HATS.
Styles That Edward VII. Has Created
 and Those He Follows

Styles That Edward VII. Has Created
 and Those He Follows,
 Is it true that the first gentleman In Europe leads the fashion in hats?
 Yes and no. When the king adopts a hat it's future is assured, but almost invariably it has had successful, If obscure, past. In the course of his ca reer his majesty has created two or three styles, of which one, the low crowned silk hat, enjoyed some vogue, while another, e sort of Welsh sugar loaf, lasted less than month. Ana there are some shapes worn by men Ill every rank of life from the blood royal downward which the king has never patronized at all
 The supremacy of the black silk hat was certainly due to his ma1esty's en- couragement. Other men might wear white hats on hot summer days, but Tor years he clung to black. His majesty did not relinouish this palladium of British responsibility even when belng received by Said Pacha under the scorching suns of Egypt, nor when ne- gotiating the turbid rapids at the head of the St. Lawrence while exposed to inc keen Canadian winds on lumber raft. It was he who ordained that the nroper and only wear for Goodwood was the tall black hat, and 1t 1s my III recent years that he has relaxed ms own rule. Hence it was with sense or relief that he was observed at the gar
 den party in the grounds of Bucklng-
 ham Palace in the summer before the
 Diamond Jubilee to be wearing white
 hat q color which turned up again at
 Goodwood two years ago, and the de-
 scent from this to the white bowler
 which he wore at Sandown last year
 became inevitable.
 But for the king, too, the narrow
 cloth band would never have replaced
 the silk galoon for ordinary wear
 This cloth band was soon perceived tc
 he not anly dressy, but also very con-
 venient, because most of us are in com
 nlimentary mourning for the greater
 part of our lives. His majesty, hoWeV'
 CT, has always set his face against the
 cruder display of sartorial grief tha
 marked the earlier Victorian regime
 To his majesty we owe the habit into
 which we fall, unconsciously ot cling
 ing to our hats at public functions a'
 if they were our talismans. Whethe
 receiving an address of welcome at al exhibition attending an afternoon lee
 ture, or unveiling a memorial in pup |, 1i, museum, the kings manner has beel
 to hold the hat in the left hand, resting
 lightly upon the hip if he be standlns
 or upon the thigh-not the knee-1t slt : ting down. When the proceedings ar drawing to a close he fingers the na lovingly and uses the palm as an aux iliary He has abandoned a hahl' which he once taught us to observe, o using the coat sleeve for this purpose ] The king uses the round bowler now days on every possible occasion ii , had at one time great affection TO ! the brown bowler, and for many year patronized the comedy gray In moth ing has the influence of the king bee . more paramount than in the introdue lion into England-obstinate insula - England-of the Homburg felt. Fc ? lonuging about the estate, for alvin , along the Norfolk Ines, for taking z morning turn in the saddle, there IS n | doubt that this comfortable shape . exactly suited to his majesty's face ', The king knew and loved the soft fe years ago in it's older form of the Offer bach or the Tyrolese, and both in tf V forests of mid Europe and in the Eng fish coverts the tuft of feathers in tf z back of the hat was never omitted. II When on Deeside early boyish exp' n rience taught the king to appreciate u " Glengarry bonnet, and he dons the ns N tional costume to this day, But the1 = is no doubt of his preference for u :. cloth peaked cap.
 7 The distaste of the king for the stra hat arises from two causes. The h' :, topped, low crowned hat would be d1 a cordant with the lines of his build, ar ,f apart from this he never has occasic ,+ to indulge in those pastimes for Whlt >f the boating straw is the only perfe ,s wear. His majesty's size is sevens; f wears everything well down over u temples, and the frone line of the brl ,a is always horizontal.-London EXpres