Top Hats: Vintage & Modern from Oliver Brown

With less than two weeks to The Investec Derby, or maybe a wedding coming up, you may be in need of a top hat. The top hat is worn at many of the prestigious racing events around the UK and is obligatory at The Investec Derby if you are a guest in the Queen's Stand. It's also worn at weddings and various ceremonial occasions. 

Getting ready for The Investec Derby

In my capacity as a style consultant for the Investec Derby I've been looking into the story of the top hat with the help of one of London's largest suppliers, Oliver Brown, whose well-stocked shop is in Chelsea and online here.

Modern top hats are made of rabbit fur felt and, while this makes a beautiful hat, it can lack the deep black, highly polished finish of a silk top hat. And here the story gets interesting, so I'll let Oliver Brown take up the tale:

"During the nineteenth century, the top hat [was] made with a unique fabric called ‘silk plush’ which has a long nap, giving the hat its high shine. This was stretched over a hard gossamer shell. [However] in 1968 the only factory that produced silk plush ceased production [and] today there is a finite supply of silk top hats in the world. Their stunning lustre, shape and lightness are the height of beauty and elegance".

Oliver Brown do offer a 'melusine' fur hat to attempt to reproduce the shine of the vintage silk hats. I suggest you visit them to compare the vintage top hats in their collection with their modern offering to see what you think. The vintage hats are pricey, particularly in larger sizes (head sizes seem to have been on average smaller in those days) but if your budget allows you will have found a true investment. 

Vintage top hats from Oliver Brown

Oliver Brown offer a refurbishment service for both vintage silk and more modern top hats, see here.

I'm pleased to own a vintage silk top hat, which I hope to have cleaned and polished and I look forward to wearing it at The Investec Derby. For more advice on what to wear at The Derby, see my videos here.

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