Fur hats used to be standard throughout Europe. One factor was it got warmer (the period from roughly 1400 to the mid-19th century was the “Little Ice Age” and it was unusually cold – that’s why the greens use it to base global warming charts). The centers of non-Hasidic Ashkenazim were increasingly in countries where fur hats ceased to be fashionable. While some attribute the decline of kapotes (frock coats) to King George V’s decision to stop wearing them, automobiles were a major factor (to a greater extent than railroads).
Hasidim tend not to care about British kings or American presidents, and so are less likely to follow their fashions.