Slash, whose signature look is a black top hat, says that was never the plan.

His first top hat, that he wore with Guns N’ Roses was stolen from a Los Angeles store. The day he stole it, he said the hat just spoke to him. He put it on and walked out the door and then went next door to another shop, and stole a concho belt. He went home, cut up the belt and wrapped it around the top hat and wore it on stage that night.

He shared the story on a podcast with Conan O’Brien and said,
“it just became a thing where I just really identified with it.”

He said when he was really high he could pull it over his eyes and it was great for bad hair days too. For Slash, one of the best things about wearing the hat on stage is that even after all these years of performing, he still can’t look directly into the audience. So, the hat has always been something to hide behind.

SIDE NOTES

  • Quote: “Put the hat on, and nobody knows who I am and what I’m doing and what I’m up to. I can see you, you can’t see me. During shows, it was great to have that because to this day, I still can’t look at the audience, like, straight into the audience. So having the top hat, really, you just pull it down and you could just do your thing and you didn’t feel as intimidated.”