ABSTRACT
The trilby is a slightly rumpled fedora accented by a tapered crown. Due to its usually being unlined and constructed of very lightweight felt, the trilby is not as stiff as the traditional fedora. It can be molded into any shape or even rolled up and stuffed into a small pocket. The name came from George du Maurier's novel, Trilby, which was dramatized in 1895. The play set into motion an enormous Trilby craze. The trilby is supposed to have had a deeper psychological significance as well. Historian James Laver attributed a sexual symbolism to men's hats, noting that men have worn high hats during periods of male dominance. And toward the end of the century men began to wear, so to speak, the very symbol of their bashed-in authority: the trilby hat. Others have stuck to a more aesthetic perspective regarding the hat's virtues. The trilby is the most expressive hat a man can wear.
