3 ms·
The other interesting but useless fact is that silk top hats (which as the article points out supersede beaver as the fibre of choice) are no longer made - and
by saaaaaam 2mo ago
The other interesting but useless fact is that silk top hats (which as the article points out supersede beaver as the fibre of choice) are no longer made - and the technique for making them is effectively lost because they need specialised looms which are also no longer made.
But if you want to go somewhere super fancy like Ascot and look the part, a silk top hat is de rigueur.
There are now a handful of shops that basically have the entire remaining (good) stock and rent them out for an arm and a leg, and take care of them like rare precious things. Which I guess they are.
- scheme271 2mo agoIt looks like silk top hats were still being made in the 60s so presumably it might still be possible to find people that worked in the factory and recover the knowledge if people really cared.
- hollow-moe 2mo agoBut restoring knowledge is against value extracymtivism so not worth it at all.
- saaaaaam 2mo agoPossibly but the 60s is a very long time ago now… My parents were both adept in Fortran in the 60s when they were in their twenties but now in their mid-eighties I doubt they would be much good at helping someone who wanted to problem solve anything using Fortran!
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- MrSkelter 2mo agoI was offered a new silk topper when I bought my last Montecristo at Locke & Co. The right corded silk is in rare supply, not the skill. They asked under £2,000 (not that much more than my Panama) and I was a fool for not taking them up on it. Very few people are buying Toppers and most people inherit their’s. The British upper classes do not see spending money as proof of anything but foolishness. Extant hats can be repaired and reblocked. Signs of age are not shameful among people who are not nouveau riche. The market for new hats is tiny. Most sold are plastic and those buying them are none the wiser and appreciate the robustness.