Opera hat described as: Some sources have taken this to describe an early folding top hat, although it is not explicitly stated whether Dollman's design was specifically for male or female headgear. Dollman's patent expired in 1825. Operating from Poissy, Paris, France, around 1840, Antoine Gibus's design for a spring-loaded collapsible top-hat proved so popular that hats made to it became known as "gibus". They were also often called "opera hats" due to the common practice of storing them in their flattened state under one's seat at the opera, though the term can also refer to any tall formal men's hat. The
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