Berets, Anyone?

[Daan]

The pakol (also called Afghan cap, or Ahmad Shah Massoud hat), is the only hat I wear apart from the beret, typically on cold, very windy winter days. The pakol is a soft, round-topped hat made of wool and found in any of a variety of earthy colors: brown, black, gray, stone or ivory.

Before it is put on, it resembles a bag with a round, flat bottom. The wearer rolls up the sides nearly to the top, forming a thick band, which then rests on the head like a beret.

I started wearing mine some 25 years ago, when working in medical emergency aid and receiving a real beauty from a colleague who worked in Afghanistan.

They were unknown really, at the time, long before 9/11. Different now, where I have actually heard from customers who wore one when entering the US and being harassed for wearing a “terrorist’s hat”! Nonsense of course, the pakol is much older than the word terrorist, introduced to Central Asia by Alexander the Great, many centuries before even Islam came into being.

Ahmad Shah Massoud, the photogenic commander who so successfully fought the Soviet invaders in Afghanistan, is strongly associated with the pakol (the hat often being referred to as “Massoud Cap”.

It’s presently on SPECIAL for the week at South Pacific Berets, available in a good selection of colours, perfectly size adjustable and genuine Afghan made (@ $29.95 only).

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Kudos for the Winter weight beret!

I have been wearing the winter weight beret available from Daan for about a month.

This beret is heavy, man.

I wear it on my morning walks in the Pacific Northwest which means: be ready at any time for a rain shower.
There is no danger of it blowing off my head.

It is a great beret for getting out in the elements no matter what the weather:
wind, rain, snow, cold.

It does have a more military appearance compared to a lighter weight tarte alpin.

 

[Daan]

Just returned from a short week away, a trip to the top of the South island where I used to live. Some of the most relaxing days in a long time!
Okay, Hanmer Springs (hot mineral pools) was a bit overcrowded on a long ANZAC-day weekend, but cycling the Nelson Cycle Trail, walking the Abel Tasman Track and enjoying the good company of family and friends was wonderful.

This picture here: my good friend Mike Perry's newly restored 1947 Ford pick up truck at his studio in Mapua. The beret? Aotearoa 10p in French Khaki.

Meeting my good friend, fellow boinero, NZ's top winemaker and the man who invented the term 'Reality Shield' for berets, Michael Glover, at the Mahana winery. Alas, the picture is taken in the tool shed of the estate where a keg of local beer is kept to keep spirits and inspiration up (it takes a lot of beer to make a good wine!).

The berets? All Auloronesas and Aotearoas in a variety of colours and diameters. Is there a favourite for me? No, it really depends on mood, day and weather. Rust-red is still pretty much my favourite colour, but then, some days just ask for a black beret and I much enjoy the traditional brown foulard too. These last few days, warm and sunny, there isn't much that can beat my Aotearoa in French-khaki 10p! Seen here at the beach of Abel Tasman National Park.

 

[Daan]

1 May - International Workers Day

Workers with beret:

City of Donesk, Ukraine, 1988


Urbis Iron Works in Bucharest. 16 may 1990

Fitter, Christchurch (NZ) Gasworks, 1983

Near Krakow, Poland, Worker leaving a steel plant


Worker at a cigar factory, Cuba 1994

Spanish workers, in the early 1900s

Laulhère's Classic Workers Berets are still available, alas, only in very small numbers. Laulhère can't continue making these berets in the relatively small numbers I order, so what's available now, is the very last of the stock.

No-nonsense, classic workers berets in 100% merino wool, lined and carrying the decades old labels Bortia and Chirola, especially reincarnated by Laulhère for South Pacific Berets (and not available anywhere else). Quality berets that should last you years, available in a large variety of colours in a 280mm diameter. Great berets at a small cost of only $ 45.00.

 

[foamy]

Nice photos all around, Daan. Looks and sounds like you had a nice bit of holiday. Good on ya. I could use one myself.

Dig the "slice of life" photos as well. They give a nice perspective.

In an effort to get some more color on my head, I may order a Chirola or Bortia, we'll see.

I've been enjoying the Aotearoa Grand Foulards Alpin. The weather yesterday was just the sort it likes and I just like wearing it.

Someone at the yard snapped my pic as I was working on Awlgripping some repainted bits. Of course, I'm wearing a dirt cheap cotton nothing beret. It's what I wear when working on and most particularly, under the boat. It saves my hair from getting painted and epoxied.

 

[Daan]

One for Foamy: amazing footage of flat bottom barge sailing (skûtsjesilen) in the late 1960's province of Friesland (Netherlands), extracted from the Bert Haanstra documentary 'Stem van het water / The Voice of the Water'.

Nice detail: from 5:13 one of the beret wearing skippers is seen without his beret on and clearly visible is where the beret usually sits - very tanned face below, very white above.

 

[Trenchfriend]

So nice, Daan!!

 

[bluesforchallah]

Me circa 1990 in San Francisco. The Beret is long gone unfortunately.

 

[MisterCairo]

Brilliant thread, I'll try to get some pics of myself in my Royal Canadian Navy beret, the only one I wear at times at the moment...

 

[foamy]

One for Foamy:

Dang, that some pretty good film and some fun sailing! Hoss 'in the sheets looks to take some muscle! Those big, full-cut sails really make the barges move! Hard sailing, close competition, gun smoke, rum tots, woman kiss 'in and trophy taking! That's living. Thanks for posting that Daan.

I sailed on a lee-board (those large, tear-drop shaped appendages on the side) boat one time in the 70's. It was a Herrshoff ketch of about thirty-some feet. I recall it being a very well behaved sailer and quite fast in light air. Heavy air and you'd have to reduce sail or end-up like the barge that went over—going to be a real problem if they go turtle!

Wore the brown Super Lujo (290) for the first time today. Not a very big step from black, but it goes with a lot and it's a size I didn't have. And of course—it's comfortable and stylish. Perhaps a pic later on.

After work, yesterday.

 

[Daan]

April 1950: Coke comes to France

In 1950, the Coca-Cola company decided the people of France were ready for the great taste of Coke. So it began a marketing campaign targeted to the country.

Coca-Cola had been available unofficially in France since 1919 and officially since 1933, but after the war Coke decided to raise its profile and capitalize on the proliferation of refrigerators in French homes.

Under the slogan "Drink Fresh," vans toured the streets and salesmen distributed samples to adults and children, in what Coke now calls "La révolution du froid" (The cold revolution).

At a Paris bar, a man in a beret spits a mouthful of Coca-Cola at the camera.

 

[1280almas]

I understand, wine better than coke

 

[Daan]

I understand, wine better than coke

Beautiful! For those unfamiliar with the "bota" and it's connection with berets, or boinas:
A bota de vino, or wineskin, is a traditional Spanish liquid receptacle. Typically, it is made of leather, and is used to carry wine, although any liquid will do.

Traditionally, bota bags were lined with goat bladders or in other cases tree sap or other resins were used to prevent liquids from seeping through. Modern bota bags have a plastic liner and nozzle.

The zahato is the traditional goatskin bottle of the Basque shepherds. With its narrow nozzle, it is possible to drink "zurrust", i.e. intercepting the jet without touching the bottle. The name of zahato or zahako is a diminutive zahat-to/-ko of zahagi 'big goatskin bottle'. Its manufacturer is a zahatogile.

The zahato is made of two pieces of tanned and close-cropped goatskin. Softened, they are cut out on a last and are sewn on their sides. Then the bottle is turned up, seam and hair inside. After drying, it is inflated, then coated with pitch to make it impermeable. The nozzle, traditionally in horn, is fixed by a red collar. The zahato is carried across the shoulder with the red cord which surrounds it along the seam.

 

[foamy]

Dang, toting a bota around reminds me of backpacking in my youth.

Well, thanks Daan, the package made it in record time!

Today, it's the first wear for the Boneteria Aotearoa - 11p (31cm) Universel. Dig the pattern of the lining. I'm liking these larger berets.

 

[NoHorse]

Whew, first "it takes a lot of beer to make wine" and now this. Makes for thirsty reading!

 

[Nico]

Dang, toting a bota around reminds me of backpacking in my youth.

Well, thanks Daan, the package made it in record time!

Today, it's the first wear for the Boneteria Aotearoa - 11p (31cm) Universel. Dig the pattern of the lining. I'm liking these larger berets.

Looks good on you foamy.

 

[RJR]

Looks good on you foamy.

+1

 

[Daan]

Weather in the northern hemisphere must be improving rapidly, as I get questions about good summer berets on a daily basis over the last few weeks. Interestingly though, a 'good beret' is automatically a good 'summer beret'. Quality berets are made of 100% merino wool and the great thing about merino fibres is that they have an incredible capacity for insulation, meaning it keeps the head cool in summer and warm in winter. The best illustration of this principle is looking at the shepherds in the Béarn and the Basque Country - in shirtsleeves in mid-summer but with a beret firmly planted on the head. And a good plateau provides for good sun protection at the same time.

However, there are many berets specifically made for warmer climes and, I have to admit, are actually more comfortable. One of the best examples are the Deer Summer Basques, small diameter berets in a feather light breathable mesh. Unfortunately, not in production anymore and very hard to find. At South Pacific Berets we only have a few left in various sizes/colours.

Well stocked are the 100% cotton berets from Argentina and Uruguay. Durable, hard wearing berets made with workers in mind - standard gear for gaucho's, peasants and farm workers across South America.

The Plato Grande models are typically worn for protection from the sun, with plenty material to pull over the neck or forehead.
French brand Le Béret Français developed a range of fantastic Eco-berets out of recycled materials: wool, synthetics, cotton and silk. They named it the Béret de Printemps ("Spring Beret"), perfect summer and warm weather wear; super light and extremely soft to the touch (thanks to a high silk content). So light, you'd easily forget you're wearing a beret (and one of the most popular berets sold to Australians over our past summer).

What if you prefer wool, but still want to be able to wear it in sub-tropical heat? Again, the berets, or boinas, from Argentina and Uruguay are best suited, in a light density merino wool. I typically wear my boinas Tolosa Tupida when on summer holidays in New Zealand's Far North Province which is warm and very humid. The Uruguayan boinas Castilla and Cataluna are very similar in quality, but softer to the touch.

 

[foamy]

Much as I would have liked to wear a straw hat on the "official" Straw Hat Day—it wasn't in the cards. Abnormally cool temps and a 20+ knot breeze all day made it a great day to try out the blue Etchea/Laulhére. I guess I must like it. I put it on in the morning to run some errands and it never came off except to dine. I was still wearing it that evening. As always, quite comfortable and I admit to liking the bright blue—the color jumps when out in the sun.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Nice!