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
Claque composer, Richard Wagner, from the Parisian operatic repertory after the claque of the Jockey Club derisively interrupted its initial performances. Later Toscanini and Mahler discouraged claques, as a part of the development of concert etiquette. Although the practice mostly died out in Europe during the mid-20th century, instances of actors paid to applaud at performances still appear today, most famously with the Bolshoi Ballet. Claque A claque is an organized body of professional applauders in French theatres and opera houses. Members of a claque are called claqueurs. Hiring people to applaud dramatic performances was common in classical times. For example,