Why don people wear stovepipe hats anymore?
In Britain they are referred to as top hats. They were originally designed as primitive crash-helmets for people falling off horses. They then became symbolic of the class of person who could afford to have his own horse or horses, and, presumably, to fall off. They are now forgotten except at a few ceremonial occasions such as Royal Ascot, when the Queen goes to the races. Mostly grey ones are worn in the daytime, and in the evening black. The costume they are worn with in the daytime includes a tailed coat, sponge-bag trousers, and a grey waistcoat: it is called morning dress. People with aspirations to grandeur hire the suits and top hats and wear them at their weddings.
