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 satirists and social critics as a symbol of capitalism or the world of business (one current example is the Monopoly Man). The use of the top hat persisted in politics and international diplomacy for many years, including at U.S. presidential inaugurations, the last being worn at the inauguration of John Fitzgerald Kennedy in 1961. The top hat also forms part of the traditional dress of Uncle Sam, a symbol of the United States, generally striped in red, white and blue. The top hat is also associated with stage magic, both in traditional costume and especially the use of hat tricks.