Opera hat which means hat, and "claque", which means "tap" or "click". The "chapeau claque" is thus a hat that folds with a click, and unfolds likewise. In English the hat model is usually referred to as a "collapsible top-hat", "gibus" or more often "opera hat"- The construction may originally have been inspired by an historical hat model called "chapeau bras" ("arm hat"), made as bicorne or tricorne to be carried folded under the arm On May 5, 1812, a London hatter called Thomas Francis Dollman patented a design for "an elastic round hat" supported by ribs and springs. His patent was
Pamela hat stage adaptation of "Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded", written by François de Neufchâteau. For the role Lange wore a straw hat which became known as a "chapeau à-la-Pamela", and she is credited with popularising the style. Straw hats "à-la-Pamela" were popular for informal wear and widely worn well into the 1810s. In August 1815, "La Belle Assemblée" reported on the continued popularity of the "chapeau à-la-Pamela", worn far back on the head with a tulle and lace cap underneath. The Pamela hat, which first emerged around 1837, was a version of the gipsy hat with a smaller brim. Gipsy hats were