Berets, Anyone?

[RJR]

Daan has a number of nice cotton berets that I have found useful in warm weather.

 

[NoHorse]

Musings on Daan’s cotton berets...

To those who have ‘em and use ‘em: does the satin lining make a cotton beret more sweat-producing than the unlined variety? Does anybody have and use both kinds?

And more: can cotton berets be persuaded to shrink, even ever so slightly?

Long term planning... and hopes for at least a few days over 20C this summer.

 

[RJR]

Musings on Daan’s cotton berets...

To those who have ‘em and use ‘em: does the satin lining make a cotton beret more sweat-producing than the unlined variety? Does anybody have and use both kinds?

And more: can cotton berets be persuaded to shrink, even ever so slightly?

Long term planning... and hopes for at least a few days over 20C this summer.

Best questions for Daan.

 

[Daan]

One week away at a remote beach in Hawkes Bay without WiFi and cell phone coverage and find all these posts on The Fedora Lounge on my return; great to see some new blood coming in (welcome HumanFactor) and activity here!

Questions on cotton berets I'll happily respond to - I've been wearing nothing else over the last week away.
NoHorse: yes, you can certainly shrink a cotton beret! I discovered this when accidentally adding my Castilla to a warm wash; it must have shrunk numerous centimeters in diameter (and now my brother happily wears it as a small diameter beret).
Unlike merino wool berets, a cotton beret can be washed. Best to do so by hand in cold water with a small amount of a mild wool detergent. Never wrench; just let it soak in the water for a good while and let it dry away from a direct heat source, out of the sun. I have washed my new Guarda Pampas this way and found no discernible shrinkage.
As for the lining (NoHorse): a satin lining will help retain some body warmth (although the effect is quite minimal). Some cotton berets, like the Espinosa's and Arandú Guarda Pampas are un-lined, but taking out the lining of a cotton beret is fool proof and won't take more than half a minute.

The boinas jaspeada by Arandú are different, being fitted with a solid cotton lining - better for colder days as this lining does form an extra buffer between the head and the great skies above.

The Tolosa Guarda Pampa was pretty much my beret of choice in the heat of last week, but at the same time, I found these berets just as good to wear on a cold, wet day. Not impermeable, of course, but thanks to the thick thread and very dense knit, these berets keep you warm and dry (in anything but a massive downpour).

 

[NoHorse]

Thanks for this info Daan.

My question about sweat was aimed more at the clamminess I experience with synthetics (eg satin) than at warmth per se. For warmth a wool beret is obviously the thing. My interest in a cotton beret is for a way of covering my pate with something that is breathable.

Removing a lining may be a solution, though that removes the label as well... I have been thinking of getting a dark cotton beret, so as match my dark wool berets. However, I suddenly remembered how dark cotton gradually shows wear and becomes lighter along edges etc. I may opt for a lighter, more nuetral color.

And the shrinkability is good news!

 

[Nico]

Currently down in Melbourne.
Today’s agenda clothes and shoe shopping, nope, not for me .
To ease the pain wearing one of my reality shields.

 

[Humanfactor]

The one thing I find unique to bérets amongst all other sartorial items is the tremendous amount of relationships it has intrinsically acquired over many years. Arts, Military, Revolutions, Gauchos, Literature, Cultural tribes (e.g. beatniks), etc... and it has been pretty much the only piece of clothing that has inspired me to acquire additional knowledge. I started reading about the Spanish Civil war, which I knew little about. Daan's The Béret Project has had me going down many learning paths; poets, artists. writers, military, geography, etc... it's quite the inspiring piece of clothing. I have even used it in my Historial Novel which I'm about to finish. So, here's to the béret as I raise my glass of single malt Scotch Whisky from the island of Islay.

 

[Humanfactor]

Currently down in Melbourne.
Today’s agenda clothes and shoe shopping, nope, not for me .
To ease the pain wearing one of my reality shields.

View attachment 103730

Hey Nick, always looking cool there my man. What size is the béret sir?

 

[Humanfactor]

Daan has a number of nice cotton berets that I have found useful in warm weather.

Daan's cotton's are nice, I bought an Espinosa one not too long ago. No lining, but just the cool label.

 

[Nico]

Hey Nick, always looking cool there my man. What size is the béret sir?

G’day Michael
It’s a 28cm Basco Pura Lana. Nice lightweight beret made from lambs wool.

Cheers
N

 

[Blackthorn]

The main thing that has kept me from owning a beret all these years is that my eyes are very light sensitive. I need some kind of bill/peak to keep the sun out of my eyes. I love the way they look and the practicality of being warm during cold weather.

 

[Humanfactor]

The main thing that has kept me from owning a beret all these years is that my eyes are very light sensitive. I need some kind of bill/peak to keep the sun out of my eyes. I love the way they look and the practicality of being warm during cold weather.

Hi Blackthorn, if you get a reasonably sized béret, you can actually shape it to be more of a "newsboy" cap creating a lid to shelter your eyes from the sun and rain. I wear my beret this way all the time, I can even cover my ears slightly this way. My head size circumference is about 57.5 cm and the typical beret size I buy is 28 or 29 cm. Cheers!

 

[RJR]

Hi Blackthorn, if you get a reasonably sized béret, you can actually shape it to be more of a "newsboy" cap creating a lid to shelter your eyes from the sun and rain. I wear my beret this way all the time, I can even cover my ears slightly this way. My head size circumference is about 57.5 cm and the typical beret size I buy is 28 or 29 cm. Cheers!

I am blind in one eye but it is still very sensitive to light.I wear larger berets and have the same experience.

 

[Humanfactor]

I am blind in one eye but it is still very sensitive to light.I wear larger berets and have the same experience. View attachment 103927

I like that béret RJR... nice color and fits you well sir.

 

[Daan]

I don't know how many (hot/dry) weather records have been broken this New Zealand summer (this summer being the hottest since recording started in the mid 1800's), but looking at the 2 pictures below, I can tell you the difference in water temperature is more than extreme.
On the left a 2010 dip in a North Island creek which was close to Antarctic coldness (if my memory doesn't deceive me), on the right this afternoon a lazy swim in the Hutt River, which felt like a warm bath.

And for Spot The Difference: both are cotton boinas Tolosa Tupida, 31cm in Bordeaux (L) and in red-white (R).

 

[Humanfactor]

I don't know how many (hot/dry) weather records have been broken this New Zealand summer (this summer being the hottest since recording started in the mid 1800's), but looking at the 2 pictures below, I can tell you the difference in water temperature is more than extreme.
On the left a 2010 dip in a North Island creek which was close to Antarctic coldness (if my memory doesn't deceive me), on the right this afternoon a lazy swim in the Hutt River, which felt like a warm bath.
View attachment 104033 View attachment 104034
And for Spot The Difference: both are cotton boinas Tolosa Tupida, 31cm in Bordeaux (L) and in red-white (R).

Love those Tolsa Tupida's, will eventually get one from you Daan. In the meantime enjoy your great weather.

 

[Humanfactor]

Btw, another great find thanks to the béret, specifically, the BA béret is Savon de Marseille! I was wondering what that smell was from the BA béret. Then in a past post, Daan resolved the mystery. That the BA's use Savon de Marseille in their process and thus have hints of the fragrance of the soap. Well, I really like the fragrance and next thing you know, I order it off Amazon. The "official" stuff. Love it. Though my favorite soap is still Dr. Bronners.

 

[Daan]

Researching the use of berets by the military during World War I, I have come across some beautiful material. Much is related to the Chasseurs Alpins of course, the first military unit to adopt the beret, but also some early tank crews and other visual material. A random selection of what I found:

Coloured in photograph of French and British officers posing in front of a captured German A7V tank, one of Germany's earliest tanks introduced in 1918 (and a fairly useless affair).

Chasseur Alpin with his guard dogs; unknown date and location.

Artillerie de Montagne (Mountain Artillery) in the Vosges.

Horses, mules and donkeys were still the main means of transportation, especially in the mountains.

Mechanized units searching for zeppelins.

Commander of a Renault FT tank, wearing a small diameter beret.

Just after the Great War, in 1919 or 1920: crew posing in front of a French FCM Char 2C heavy tank, the whole crew clearly fitted out with black berets.

Black berets became the standard for tank crews the world over, but were first used after Major-General Sir Hugh Elles, during a training of the 70th Chasseurs Alpins with the British Tank Corps during the Great War, saw their excellence in the confined, dirty enclosures of early tanks. The rest is history.

 

[Humanfactor]

Bérets in the rough. I met this gentleman last night while at a Vietnamese restaurant. He was on one side of me and an older woman also wearing a béret was on the other side. This guy was wearing a wool military styled béret. He told me he much prefers a béret to wearing a baseball cap, but complained it's hard to find a quality béret. I told him about South Pacific Bérets and The Béret Project. We had a good chat about our lives here in Boston. He was a few years older than me but remembered (and frequented) many of the same places in town during the 1970's. Oh, and he had an amazingly strong Boston accent. LOL

 

[Nico]

Bérets in the rough. I met this gentleman last night while at a Vietnamese restaurant. He was on one side of me and an older woman also wearing a béret was on the other side. This guy was wearing a wool military styled béret. He told me he much prefers a béret to wearing a baseball cap, but complained it's hard to find a quality béret. I told him about South Pacific Bérets and The Béret Project. We had a good chat about our lives here in Boston. He was a few years older than me but remembered (and frequented) many of the same places in town during the 1970's. Oh, and he had an amazingly strong Boston accent. LOL View attachment 104444

Kindred spirits unite!