Slash Shares He Actually Shoplifted His Iconic Top Hat

Perhaps other than guitar, Slash could be easily associated with the iconic top hat that he frequently uses. But the story on how he got it was unusual, but something that you’d predict that he would do in the first place.

In a recent visit in Conan O’Brien’s podcast Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend, the Guns N’ Roses guitarist shared the story of how he first laid hands on the hat. With Slash’s mother being a fashion stylist who had David Bowie as one of her customers, Slash always had a knack for fashion and style.

“I definitely was aware of the fact that you have to have some sort of a persona or image,” Slash said. Being around famous artists and musicians who had their style, for him, was something that stuck around.

O’Brien then began to explore the origins of Slash’s iconic hat, which was shoplifted by him in a store from Los Angeles named Retail Slut, and went on to use the hat later that night for the gig.

“I remember this because there were two stores; there was Leathers and Treasures, and Retail Slut next door,” Slash explained. “And Taime Downe, the singer from a band called Faster Pussycat, used to work at Retail Slut, so that’s how I remember the name of it. I went in there, and I didn’t have any money. And I always used to wear some sort of a hat; it completed whatever look you had. I went in there and I just saw the top hat. It just spoke to me.”

He further added: “I figured, what the f**k, I’ll just walk out with it and see what happens, so I did.” Next, he went to another store named Leathers and Treasures, took a concho belt, and went home. The next thing he did was to assemble the two and went on to the gig that GNR was having that night. He never imagined the hat to be of long-term use, though.

For Slash, the top hat was more than just a thing to complete his accessory; he identified with that piece of clothing where he could wear it to hide his eyes or when he’s having “a bad hair day.”

You can watch the video below.