Why magicians use top hats?

It's a good place to keep your bunny!

Bottom hats haven't been invented yet!

Ray

Give you a place to set the glass while you're searching for your car keys.

And monkeys like them better than fezzes.

There was a time when all gentlemen (who could afford to go to the theatre) wore top hats, and when the magician came down from the stage and found all sorts of strange items in the top hat you had just been wearing, it was astonishing. Then, fashions changed, but magicians couldn't, so they began to bring their own top hats and use them for ther hat loads they had learned to perform. Soon top hats became so rare that today they are found in three places- weddings, foreign embassy affairs, and magic shows. Possibly also at funerals, but performing magic at a funeral is a bit tacky.

If you want to get back to the original concept, learn to do hat loads in today's hats, such as I did when I came up with my Ungimmicked Egg Bag Routine ... it's usually just a knit hat or a baseball cap borrowed from a kid in the audience and it's magical because it's HIS hat and he knows it contains no secret pockets, etc. Spellbinder came up with Stock Pot Substitutes for Top Hats in The Wizards' Journal #18. Those are good for restaurants or wedding receptions or large catered affairs, but it can also replace the more obvious Dove Pan which has no other reason for being today than as a magic prop, but once was common as a chafing dish.

So, to answer your question, magicians use top hats because it's a habit and magicians resist change more than politicians once they become elected.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/world_no......ons.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u54zeihnE20

"A top hat, beaver hat, high hat, silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat[1] (sometimes also known by the nickname "topper") is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century. As of the early 21st century, it is usually worn only with morning dress or white tie, in dressage, as servants' or doormen's livery, or as a fashion statement. The top hat is sometimes associated with the upper class, becoming a target for satirists and social critics. It was particularly used as a symbol of capitalism in cartoons in socialist and communist media, long after the headgear had been abandoned by those satirized. It was a part of the dress of Uncle Sam and used as a symbol of US monopoly power. By the end of World War II, it had become a rarity, though it continued to be worn daily for formal wear, such as in London at various positions in the Bank of England and City stockbroking, or boys at some public schools."
"The top hat persisted in politics and international diplomacy for many years, including U.S. presidential inaugurations, last being used in 1961. Top hats are still associated with stage magic, both in traditional costume and especially the use of hat tricks."

For the rest of the story from Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_hat

[quote.......... Top hats are still associated with stage magic, both in traditional costume and especially the use of hat tricks."
[/quote]........and traditional tap dancing routines!......

like wearing a cane or a tux - context and character - costume or iconic reference.

For tips!

Mike Caldwell used a folding top hat for his handkerchief routine for years. He had bought it in MAXWELL STREET in Chicago. It finally wore out. He needed to replace it. (He only did one trick, and the hat was important to the routine) I'll tell the story of how he replaced it in my book. Only a pro will appreciate the story.

I hope this doesn't involve grave robbing. Ha!

One year later.....

No indeed! Mike bought a new one in a Chicago Men's store ($200) --but, that's only HALF of the story!