Berets, Anyone?

[Inkstains]

Andrea

Welcome. There are members here with much more standing and seniority, but I wanted to add my thanks for your interesting and informative post.

 

[Stormy]

Love berets! Always have. They are my hat-of-choice for many reasons that are: political, fashionable, historical, artistic, non of the aforementioned, and all of the above. I have, or have had in the past, berets of every color imaginable. I have collected them since I was in the 8th grade.

 

[Daan]

Welcome to the thread, Andrea. Interesting post with good links for future posts on The Beret Project - thanks very much!

Same for 1280almas, as always interesting material about and from Asturias. Here another picture of Luis Argüelles - a great man under a great beret.

 

[ebonysw45]

In Christchurch NZ on the weekend and tried out my Txapeldun. Easier to travel with a large beret. It protects the ears and face, you just have to be careful to protect your neck and come rain or shine you are good to go. Next I will try the cotton Tolosa Tupida Algodon.

 

[Daan]

In Christchurch NZ on the weekend and tried out my Txapeldun. Easier to travel with a large beret. It protects the ears and face, you just have to be careful to protect your neck and come rain or shine you are good to go. Next I will try the cotton Tolosa Tupida Algodon.

View attachment 8865

Great pic! That's what I call a good sized beret (and no doubt about protection from any weather).

 

[jhe888]

That is no beret - it is a placemat!

 

[1mach1]

Jason Statham makes it look good. Then again, it's Jason Statham.

 

[ebonysw45]

That little thing wouldn't keep the sun off nor keep your head that warm I like the beret as a travel hat especially because it can be rolled up or just slipped flat into a bag. It sheds water and provides protection from the sun and also is a replacement for a beanie. I have a slouch hat grade 2 for hiking without a pack and I think now i will try out a beret for when I'm doing multi day walks.

 

[Daan]

That little thing wouldn't keep the sun off nor keep you head that warm I like the beret as a travel hat especially because it can be rolled up or just slipped flat into a bag. It sheds water and provides protection from the sun and also is a replacement for a beanie. I have a slouch hat grade 2 for hiking without a pack and I think now i will try out a beret for when I'm doing multi day walks.

I couldn't agree more (no surprise). Jason Statham's beret may be agreeable to some for aesthetic reasons (not mine), but arguing over taste is an endless road and not leading anywhere. The protection from the weather Statham's small diameter military style beret provides is rather minimal (apart from keeping the head warm).

Even though some may regard a good sized txapeldun or plato grande as a placemat (jhe888, post #819), many choose this headgear for the very practical reasons ebonysw45 mentioned: protection from the sun, rain and snow, cold and heat and yes, if not wearing it, it easily folds up to fit in your pocket. Try that with a Stetson.
Facts well known to various groups of dedicated beret wearers:

the gauchos from Argentina, Chile, uruguay and Brazil, for example. Or

the French Chasseurs Alpins, whether as protection from the sun, snow and cold in the high Alps or from sun and heat on missions in Africa. Or

inhabitants of the wet and windy northern Spanish coast, like this gentleman from Bilbao.

 

[ebonysw45]

I also have a Chasseurs Alpin on the way from France that I managed to find. That being said I also own 2 royal Stetsons, 2 Panama hats and 3 Akubras. I'm also on the lookout for some vintage Feds in a size 7 US. Each to his own, me I like them all well I'm not a fan of the top hat or a homburg.

 

[jhe888]

My remark was, of course, a little joke.

 

[ebonysw45]

I wasn't offended and did take it as a joke as I hope everyone else did as well. That being said people have gotten touchy these days and do tend to take offence way too quickly. In the two days I wore the beret I received several compliments, one from a very attractive french girl and also many sideways glances of which a reasonable portion I'm sure would have been thinking, "what is that guy wearing".

 

[jhe888]

I wear a more conventionally sized beret from time to time, and I get some sideways glances, too. I don't see many berets here in Texas.

 

[Daan]

I wear a more conventionally sized beret from time to time, and I get some sideways glances, too. I don't see many berets here in Texas.

Welcome to the Club (of beret wearers, that is).

I don't send too many wool berets to Texas, but after California, most of the cotton berets (many of them placemat sized plato grandes) find their way there; good sun protection for them ranchers out there!

 

[Kreissaege]

What I like about my big ones is being asked, mostly by children, whether I am an artist.
What I dont like is explaining, to adults, that I am not wearing a beret but a "Baskenmütze" (basque cap).

 

[Daan]

What I like about my big ones is being asked, mostly by children, whether I am an artist.
What I dont like is explaining, to adults, that I am not wearing a beret but a "Baskenmütze" (basque cap).

Exactly! When I walk my youngest daughter to school, there is always at least one boy or girl who asks me that question. The last one was: "did you paint the Eiffel Tower?"

 

[Inkstains]

Humm, I wonder if I need a bigger beret? I've been wearing my Tolosa Tupida 320 mm for a few weeks now. Only twice was I questioned. Once by someone needed driving directions. Another person wanted to know the breed of my mutt dog.

 

[ebonysw45]

How about something in this size.

 

[Daan]

How about something in this size.

Fantastic! Where does that shot come from?
Still, not even close to the world's largest:

 

[ebonysw45]

It's from an old UK comedy the Goodies and it is from the Ecky thump episode. They are actually caps and it's one of my favourite episodes.