Top hat top hat is a hard, black silk hat, with fur now often used. The acceptable colors of hats are much as they have traditionally been, with "white" hats (which are actually grey), a daytime racing color, worn at the less formal occasions demanding a top hat, such as Royal Ascot, or with a morning suit. In the U.S. top hats are worn widely in coaching, a driven horse discipline as well as for formal riding to hounds. The collapsible silk opera hat, or "crush hat", is still worn on occasions, and black in color if worn with evening wear as
Top hat with models in wearable condition typically hard to find; price often varies with size (larger sizes are typically more expensive) and condition. In the past, top hats were made by blocking a single piece of wool or fur felt and then covering the shell with fur plush. Since the invention of silk plush a new method using "gossamer" was invented and used up to the present day though the older method is more common for toppers made today. A town-weight silk top hat is made by first blocking two pieces of gossamer (or "goss" for short), which is made of