He was called ugly every which way he turned. The beard suggestion sounded good to a man who wanted to be known not for his looks. You know, like saying a guy is orange, or making fun of his hair.
He was considered backwoods, a puppet, and his military career was nothing to brag about.
I saw one of Lincoln’s stovepipe hats last week. I had to get a tollway transponder and stopped at one of our oases. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum has an exhibit there including “the beaver-fur stovepipe hat he wore as a country lawyer”.
I was curious about the popularity, so I googled a little, and find them in America and England.