Berets, Anyone?

[Kreissaege]

The occasional woman I see wearing a beret, does it with the rim on the outside and all pulled down. Dont know why, its the only way they do it. Those men who wear it, the "proper" way, are at least in their fifties or way beyond. The brimmed cap is whats worn by all ages. There is the occasional older man who wears a fedora etc. And, naturally, the hipsters are wearing the latter, more often than not back to front.

Something different:
How did your beret choice develop? I am asking, because I develop a tendency to wear them in dark blue and also shun away from the really big ones. Around 32cm is near perfect for me, as I found out over the years.

(Last week, while cleaning out the wardrobe I stumbled over several of black BE Super Lujo in the original wrapping, never worn. God knows how long they have been there, I am obviously not that organized . They measure, in reality, 33 and 34.5cm, so they will have to go, once I figured out how BE names these sizes)

 

[Kreissaege]

At 1:06 "... they are the last manufacturer in the world to make berets the way they do"
Really?
(Still, best of luck to the dedicated people from Laulhere)

 

[Babbo Philipe]

At 1:06 "... they are the last manufacturer in the world to make berets the way they do"
Really?
(Still, best of luck to the dedicated people from Laulhere)

best of luck but they are cutting some major corners from the results I have seen , darn shame

 

[NoHorse]

...they are cutting some major corners...

I always wondered how they make berets round...

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Navy Boneteria Aotearoa tarte alpin.

Based on extensive mirror gazing,
I think the tarte alpin in navy is a must have.
The navy beret goes with just about any dark sweater, jacket or coat.
In this case an indigo kendo gi and indigo bandana.

 

[Babbo Philipe]

i am seriously considering a blue auloronesa

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Navy goes great with just about any thing you wear.

 

[Daan]

Bad news for the fans of the béret Vrai Basque Chasseur Ardennais.

Like other vintage labels that Laulhère had reinstated for South Pacific Berets (like the Bortia, Chirola, Etchea, l'Aiglon, etc), Laulhère has decided not to continue the manufacturing of these historical berets (believe me, I did try to persuade them, but to no avail...).

The béret Vrai Basque is a very old model that has been in continious production by, interestingly,two manufacturers (and big competitors): Blancq-Olibet and Laulhère. With the takeover of B.-O. in 2014, Laulhère got the sole ownership of the label and continues to offer this beret in their higher end quality range, but... only in black and navy.
The Vrai Basque has been used by the Belgian Mountain Infantry Regiment 'Chasseurs Ardennais' since early last century and I was able to offer these berets to the public till now. Obviously, Laulhère continues to supply the Belgian military, but that's it.

The good news however, is that I have a limited number of these berets still in stock in sizes 56-63 and better still, three pieces of the vintage model in loden-green (instead of the later 'vert nocturne') in sizes 57 and 58 only.

 

[Kreissaege]

My BA Foulard Alpin is wearing great. After the first sweaty hike it begins to conform to my head.
The dark navy is definitely a plus.

 

[Kreissaege]

Bad news for the fans of the béret Vrai Basque Chasseur Ardennais.
Like other vintage labels that Laulhère had reinstated for South Pacific Berets (like the Bortia, Chirola, Etchea, l'Aiglon, etc), Laulhère has decided not to continue the manufacturing of these historical berets (believe me, I did try to persuade them, but to no aveil.
Obviously, Laulhère continues to supply the Belgian military, but that's it.

One should think that a struggling company tries its best to build up production and acts flexible for the sake of additional sales. Sort of "Hey Daan, we received an order from the belgian forces, do you want to add to this with an order for yourself?"

 

[RJR]

One should think that a struggling company tries its best to build up production and acts flexible for the sake of additional sales. Sort of "Hey Daan, we received an order from the belgian forces, do you want to add to this with an order for yourself?"

You're no doubt chronicling the very reason the company is struggling.

 

[Daan]

One should think that a struggling company tries its best to build up production and acts flexible for the sake of additional sales. Sort of "Hey Daan, we received an order from the belgian forces, do you want to add to this with an order for yourself?"

You're no doubt chronicling the very reason the company is struggling.

Except..., Laulhère is far from struggling! All through the early years of this century, Laulhère (under the name BeaTex) was close to bankruptcy, barely surviving due to competition from cheap labour countries, poor management and an altogether declining headgear industry and lesser hat wearing in general.
In 2013 BeaTex-Laulhère was taken over by the the big French military supplier Cargo-Promodis from Toulouse. Cargo-Promodis also bought the (then oldest) manufacturer Blancq-Olibet, and incorporated the company under the traditional old name 'Laulhère'.

Cargo-Promodis injected good money for a renewed startup; Irish man Mark Saunders was hired as sales manager and from then on, things went uphill at a rapid pace. After only 2 years the company made a profit again and now, in 2017, Laulhère opens shops in the most expensive districts of Paris, Tokyo and NYC.
Laulhère’s efforts were recognized by two prestigious awards: “Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant” or “EPV” and “OrigineFrance Garantie”, a status held by only 350 companies.
So much for a "struggling company...".

Whether all this is only good news for us, traditional boineros, is debatable. Laulhère's focus is much more on the high end fashion industry; the company is present at all major international fashion shows, on TV and online and Saunders is exceptionally qualified to continue to get, and keep, Laulhère in the media's spotlight.

The good thing is that there is much renewed interest in beret wearing, not just for the new expensive fashionable models, but it also trickles down to the traditional Basque beret (I see that reflected in my little business, as well as on this and other forums - Basque berets are back!), but the negative effect is that the traditional Basque beret (or Béarnaise, for that matter) is at the company's lower end. The number of models of traditional Basques has been drastically reduced and prices have gone up considerably. Just check out Laulhère's own webstore (eg. the 'Smiley', pictured above, sells at 140 euros...).

"Branding" and "profiling" made for the decision not to continue with my small pet projects (the reinstating of vintage labels; the Vrai Basque Chasseur Ardennais, etc). Still, I am happy with the overall result Laulhère accomplishes; the Basque beret is definitely back!

 

[Kreissaege]

The more of vthese fashionable berets are sold by Laulhere and worn, the greater the demand for traditional ones from the other brands?
I hope so!

 

[Babbo Philipe]

well i have no worries, i got my berets and a lifetime supply

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

The Smiley Face berets can all be placed in a giant bonfire.
Maybe, then I can start to forget that such a thing even existed.

 

[Daan]

The Smiley Face berets can all be placed in a giant bonfire.
Maybe, then I can start to forget that such a thing even existed.

Bouwerij Jongen, you were the very reason to include those two pictures; I was just waiting for some response from you (knowing of your liking for Laulhère's Instagram campain)!

 

[Kreissaege]

My favourite smiley

 

[Nico]

Preferred beret at work is the super Lujo. Great weather protection and tough as nails.
If it had an Australian safety standard tag I would wear it as a safety helmet.

 

[Kreissaege]

Maybe Daan has a beret helmet cover left over. He used to sell these a couple of years ago.

 

[RJR]

View attachment 70238
Maybe Daan has a beret helmet cover left over. He used to sell these a couple of years ago.

Wow!