Opera hat An opera hat, also called a chapeau claque or gibus, is a top hat variant that is collapsible through a spring system, originally intended for less spacious venues, such as the theatre and opera house. Typically made of black satin, 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. NameIts French name chapeau claque is a composition of chapeau, which means hat, and claque, which means 'tap' or 'click'. The chapeau claque 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.[1] History The construction may originally have been inspired by a historical hat model called chapeau bras ('arm hat'), made as bicorne or tricorne to be carried folded under the arm.[2] 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,[4][5] although it is not explicitly stated whether Dollman's design was specifically for male or female headgear. Dollman's patent expired in 1825.[6] 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.[7][8] The characteristic snapping sound heard upon opening a gibus suggested a third name, the chapeau claque, claque being the French word for 'slap'.[9] See alsoReferences
External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Opera hats.
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