Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1901-08-16
HIS MAJESTY'S HEADGEAR.
Has Created, and Those That
He Follows. ls,..a. tt..

lie Follows. {n..ae Fsf
When the king adopts" hat it,
future is assured, but almost inva-
riably it has had successful, if OBJ
scure, past In the course of his
career his majesty has "created" two
or three styles, of which one, the
low-crowned silk hat, enjoyed some
vogue, while another, q sort of Welsh
sugarloaf, lasted less than a month.
And there are some shapes worn by
men in every rank of life from the
blood royal downward which the
king has never patronized at all says
the London Express.
The supremacy of the black silk
hat was certainly due to his majesty's
encouragement. Other men might
wear white hats on hot summer days,
but for years he clung to black. His
majesty did not relinquish this pal
ladium of British Responsibility even
when being received by Said Pasha
under the scorching suns of Egypt,
nor when negotiating the turbid
rapids at the head of the st. Law
renee, while exposed to the keen
Canadian winds on lumber raft 1t
was he who ordained that the proper
and only wear for Goodwood was the
tall black hat, and it is only in re-
cent years that he has relaxed his
own rule. Hence it was with sense
of relief that he was observed at the
garden party in the grounds of Buck
ingham palace in the summer before
the diamond jubilee to be wearing
white hat, color which turned up
again at Goodwood two years ago,
and the descent from this to the
white bowler whicn he wore at San.
down last year became inevitable.
But for the king, too, the narrow
cloth band would never have replaced
the silk galloon for ordinary wear.
This cloth band was soon perceived
to be not only dressy, but also very
convenient, because most of us are in
complimentary mourning for the
greater part of our lives. His ma
jesty, however, has always set his
face against the cruder display of
sartorial grief that marked the ear
lier Victorian regime.
To his majesty we owe the habit
into which we fall unconsciously OF
clinging to our hats at public func-
tions as II they were'our talismans.
Whether receiving an address of well
come at an exhibition, attending an
afternoon lecture, or unveiling
memorial in a public museum, tie
kings manner has been to hold the
hat in the left hand, resting lightly
upon the hip if he be standing, or
upon the thigh-not the knee-if
sitting down. When the proceedings
are drawing to a close he fingers the
nap lovingly and uses the palm as an
auxiliary. He has abandoned habit,
which he once taught us to observe,
of using the coat sleeve for this pur-
pose. -.sE f.F
The king uses the round bowler
nowadays on every possible occasion.
He had at one time Il great affection
for the brown bowler, and for many
years patronized the comely gray. In
nothing has the influence of the king
been more paramount thanin the in
PRODUCTION into ngland--obstinat
insular England-of the IIomburg
felt. For lounging about the estate,
for driving along the Norfolk lanes,
for taking morning turn in the
saddle, there is no doubt that this
comfortable shape is exactly suited
to his majesty's face. .1.t iln
The king knew and loved the soft
felt years ago in its older form of
the Offenbach or the Tyrolese, and
both in the forests of md-Europe and
in the English coverts the tuft Of
feathers in the back OF the hat was
never omitted 13h
When on Deeside early boyish ex-
perience taught the king to appre-
ciate the Glengarry bonnet and he
dons the national costume to this
day. But there is no doubt of his
preference for the cloth peaked cap.
The distaste of the king for the
straw hat arises from two causes.
The fiat topped, low crowned hat
would be discordant with the lines of
his build, and apart from this he
never has occasion to indulge in those
pastimes for which the boating straw
is the only perfect wear. His majes-
tvs size is sevens; he wears every
thing well down over the temples, and
the front line of the brim is always
horizontal