Trilby name of the heroine of George du Maurier's eponymous novel (1894), a beautiful artist's model who becomes a successful singer under the tutelage of Svengali. The trilby hat, a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and indented crown, is named for her, as such a hat was worn in the stage version, and in the first part of the 20th century feet were informally known as trilbies, as du Maurier's heroine was admired for her feet.

tril·by / ˈtrilbē/ • n. (pl. -bies) chiefly Brit. a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and indented crown.

trilby man's soft felt hat; (pl.) bare feet. XIX. Name of the heroine of the novel ‘Trilby’ (1893), by George du Maurier, as applied to a kind of hat used in the dramatized version, and to the heroine's use of bare feet.

Trilby ★★★ 1917

Original screen production of Du Maurier's classic tale of Svengali. 59m/B VHS . Clara Kimball Young, Wilton Lackaye, Chester Barnett; D: Maurice Tourneur.