An opera hat also called a chapeau claque or gibus is a

top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...

variant that is collapsible through a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a ...

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 an easy push from underneath.

Name

Its 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''.

History

Pierrot du 21 novembre 1926 Chapeau-Claque

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 armQuinion, Michael. ''Why is Q always followed by U?''

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, 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 characteristic snapping sound heard upon opening a gibus suggested a third name, the ''chapeau claque'', "claque" being the French word for "slap".

Gallery

Collapsible opera hat.JPG, ''Collapsible opera hat (top hat)'' in a semi-folded state. Gentlemannen - om män och mode - Hallwylska museet - 85834.tif, Opera hat as seen on

Hallwyl Museum Hallwyl Museum ( sv, Hallwylska museet) is a Swedish national museum housed in the historical Hallwyl House in central Stockholm located on 4, Hamngatan facing Berzelii Park. The house once belonged to the Count and Countess von Hallwyl, but was ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

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, with

walking cane An assistive cane is a walking stick used as a crutch or mobility aid. A cane can help redistribute weight from a lower leg that is weak or painful, improve stability by increasing the base of support, and provide tactile information about ...

and

hat box A hat box (also commonly hatbox and sometimes hat bucket, hat tin or bandbox) is a container for storing and transporting headgear, protecting it from damage and dust. A more generic term for a box used to carry garments, including headgear, is ...

. Hutkarton von A. Köhlborm aus Minden in Westfalen 3.jpg,

Hat box A hat box (also commonly hatbox and sometimes hat bucket, hat tin or bandbox) is a container for storing and transporting headgear, protecting it from damage and dust. A more generic term for a box used to carry garments, including headgear, is ...

for a folded opera hat, c. 1900–1925. Collapsible top hat IMGP9677.jpg, Collapsible top hat upside down (2011). (Albi) L'Homme au gibus - Edgar Degas - Musée Toulouse-Lautrec.jpg, ''L'Homme au gibus'' -

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

- Musée Toulouse-Lautrec Albi

In popular culture

In the nursery rhyme adapted from the sixteenth-century ballad, ''A Frog He Would A Wooing Go'', the titular frog sets off to woo "with his opera hat." During an attack by a cat and her kittens, the frog escapes but "picks up his hat" before leaving. A chapeau claque is an inherent element of the stage image of Krzysztof Grabowski - the leader of Polish punk-rock band Pidżama Porno. In the Russian children's books and subsequent animated features about Gena the Crocodile, the main villain is an elderly lady named Shapoklyak, the Russified form of chapeau claque. She also wears one. In the

first-person shooter First-person shooter (FPS) is a sub-genre of shooter video games centered on gun and other weapon-based combat in a first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action through the eyes of the protagonist and controlling the pl ...

video game ''

Team Fortress 2 ''Team Fortress 2'' is a 2007 multiplayer first-person shooter, first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve Corporation. It is the sequel to the 1996 ''Team Fortress'' Mod (video gaming), mod for ''Quake (video game), Quake'' and ...

'', one of the most common hats equippable by the players is called the Ghostly Gibus, one of the few hats in the game that can be obtained without spending any money. Other variants of this hat are the Ghastly Gibus, the Ghastlier Gibus, and the Ghastlierest Gibus.

References

External links

*
Les Gibus une famille de chapelier
' (in French) {{Authority control Hats Formal wear