The top hat had been something of an Inauguration Day tradition for U.S. presidents like Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. But the custom seemed to come to an end with Dwight Eisenhower, who wore a comparatively casual homburg the day he became president.

Less than a week after Election Day 1960, a column in The Baltimore Sun beckoned President-elect John F. Kennedy to bring back the top hat at his inauguration “to make the occasion more memorable for the children.” Hats were a much bigger deal back then.

Kennedy's tailor agreed, and eventually, so did Kennedy — though he was generally known for his hatlessness. In January 1961, the president's inaugural committee announced that Kennedy would wear a top hat, with formal day dress and striped trousers.

The announcement created a stir. Senate Republicans griped that such formal wear was more appropriate for a coronation, not an inauguration. They would wear business suits.

The Baltimore Sun columnist wholeheartedly endorsed the president's decision, writing, “It is in its ceremonial aspect that the top hat is without peer.”

Some wondered whether the world would see a popular renaissance of the top hat, which had begun dying out around the 1920s. Joseph Charlow, who sold top hats, or toppers, in his West Fayette Street store, thought it signaled a new era.

“Mr. Kennedy is getting us back on the right track,” Charlow told The Sun.

ctkacik@baltsun.com