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An opera hat, also called a or gibus, is a
The construction may originally have been inspired by a historical hat model called (), made as
Les Gibus une famille de chapelier
' (in French) {{Authority control Hats Formal wear
An opera hat, also called a or gibus, is a top hat
A top hat (also called a high hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally made of black silk or ...
variant that is collapsible through a spring system, originally intended for less spacious venues, such as the theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
and opera house.
Typically made of black satin
A satin weave is a type of Textile, fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back; it is not durable, as it tends to snag. It is one of three fundamen ...
, it folds vertically through a push or a snap on the top of the hat for convenient storage in a wardrobe or under the seat. It opens with a push from underneath.
Name
Its French name is a composition of , which means hat, and , which means or . The 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''.History
The construction may originally have been inspired by a historical hat model called (), made as bicorne
The bicorne or bicorn (two-cornered) is a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American army and naval officers. Most generals and staff officers of the Napoleonic period wore bicornes, whic ...
or tricorne to be carried folded under the arm.Quinion, Michael. ''Why is Q always followed by U?'' Penguin Books
Penguin Books Limited is a Germany, German-owned English publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers the Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the ...
. 2009
On 5 May 1812, London hatter Thomas Francis Dollman patented a design for "an elastic round hat" supported by ribs and springs. His patent was 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
Poissy () is a Communes of France, commune in the Yvelines Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Inhabitan ...
, 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''.
The characteristic snapping sound heard upon opening a gibus suggested a third name, the , being the French word for .
See also
*List of hat styles
Hats have been common throughout the history of humanity, present on some of the very earliest preserved human bodies and art. Below is a list of various kinds of contemporary or traditional hat.
List
See also
*List of headgear
References
...
* Opera cloak
* Opera gloves
* Opera glasses
References
External links
*Les Gibus une famille de chapelier
' (in French) {{Authority control Hats Formal wear