Berets, Anyone?

[Edward]

As I sit here with a hoodie pulled over my Flamingo 10p,
my thought is you can wear a beret anywhere you go.
In a cold country you wear a hooded jacket/parka that fits over your beret.
You should be toasty and when you are in a warmer spot,
you can throw back the hood.

With this current Winter having been a windy one here in London, I've not been out in my beloved fedoras for some time. Instead, I've been wearing mostly berets, switching between my Laulhere basque in black (as pictured), and a Laulhere "Paris Beret" in oxblood when I'm feeling frisky, depending where I am located - it's not everywhere I'd risk that colour lest it be mistaken for a military model. (I also have a Basque model in the oxblood, an Alpin in the traditional navy blue, one of the smaller-diameter versions in grey - all Laulhere; I bought the black one in the pictures actually at the factory. Also have a grey-blue Billy Childish cotton beret waiting for wearing with my kilt in the Summer.) My Winter coat of choice this year has been a Montgomery Original brand duffle - another reason I'm not currently wearing the fedoras, as with the berets I can easily pull up the hood if the rain come on or the wind gets very sharp.

I've not quite yet had the nerve to wear the Alpin out, but I'm sure the weather will eventually make it viable; I had a Ushanka for several years before we had a Winter so cold that I stopped caring if I looked daft and wore it. I think the Alpin will be especially great in rain and/or snow... Very much enjoying my berets, though, on the whole. There's something fun about them that they can enhance either a beatnik or even a militia kind of look without looking like military-wannabe.

een on the

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Catching some fresh air on a sunny day in Oregon.
We always get 2 or 3 days of nice weather in February giving
false hope to an early spring.
Wearing a kahki color 28 cm Flamingo beret from Japan via Daan.
With an elastic headband it fits comfortably and the weight is good for indoors and out.
Photos do not capture the color acurately,
it has a deep gold cast.

 

[Daan]

White berets... They're hardly seen these days which is a real shame, as there are plenty of interesting "role models" in the recent past wearing these berets.
A friend from Béarn sent me this picture this morning, the self portrait of Danish painter Michael Ancher. Ancher was a realist artist who is remembered above all for his paintings of fishermen and other scenes from the Danish fishing community in Skagen, but also for wearing a white beret.

Leandro Nicéforo Alem (1841 –1896) was an Argentinean politician and the founder and leader of the Radical Civic Union. His trademark white beret became a symbol for the Radicals and centre-left parties in Argentina.

A number of towns and cities in Argentina are named after Alem and, with his Boina Blanca, or white beret, he became a bit of a cult icon avant la lettre, with his picture on various consumer items, such as razor blades and milongas and tangos dedicated to him (or his white beret).

In my slightly subjective opinion, I fear I also have to name the Carlists; the ultra-conservative, ultra-Catholic monarchists from Spain. Best known for their red berets with tassel, but they also wore the boina blanca - closely associated of course with the RC Church.

The Pilgrims of St. Michael were founded in Canada in 1939 by Louis Even and Gilberte Côté-Mercier, with a slightly different mission from the Carlists: to promote the development of a better world, a more Christian society, through the diffusion and the implementation of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, in every sector of society, especially the economic field.

This photograph (above) depicts a passenger service representative in new uniform created by fashion designer Bill Atkinson. According to an article in the February 1972 issue of Penn Central Post (the Penn Central company magazine), "The new uniforms proposed for America's intercity rail network made their official debut at a fashion show in Pennsylvania Station, New York. Amtrak wanted [the uniforms] to be modern in spirit but yet to retain the colorful traditions of American railroading. 'Nostalgic newness' was the theme."

And gauchos, of course - where white berets are typical to protect from the burning sun on the Pampas.
My personal favourite is Elosegui's Txapeldun, a great beret in summer and winter!

 

[Daan]

Are there berets that can cover your hears and back of the head/neck? I do not mean an oversized beret that can be pulled down but something that would broadly keep looking like a normal beret with the added protection. I like the fact a beret can be used to shade my eyes from the sun, but Finland is way too cold for a beret in winter...

Okay, it took me a little while to get back to this, but I now can say YES - THERE ARE SUCH BERETS!

The newly arrived winter berets from Japan are designed to keep the head, ears and neck warm in the coldest of winter weather.

These 140 gram heavy duty winter berets are made by the Toyohat Company under the 'Orient' label.
Toyohat has been manufacturing berets since 1981 and unlike most of the companies' other hat models, these berets are still handmade at their Osaka factory (and not at the company's plant in China).

The berets are knitted in 80% merino wool with 20% polyester for added strength. Now available in two colours in small numbers at South Pacific Berets.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

So, Daan, have you ever seen a beret like the Orient winter beret?
It seems to have the basic construction of a beret, but they just kept going to
create enough length to cover the ears and to fold up a wide band like a watch cap.
Is that fair to say?

 

[Daan]

So, Daan, have you ever seen a beret like the Orient winter beret?
It seems to have the basic construction of a beret, but they just kept going to
create enough length to cover the ears and to fold up a wide band like a watch cap.
Is that fair to say?

Yep, I have seen one - it is actually me in the pictures above!
Not that it is anything like winter down here, but I did immediately take a fancy to the rust-coloured model and happy to pose.

No, it is not simply an extended beret, as a Basque beret has a definite head-opening at the underside of the beret, whereas these Orients go straight down from the crown (similar to an Afghan pakol).
However, these are true Basques in the sense of their manufacturing - made of one single thread from top to bottom.

Posted here some extra photos from the manufacturer's brochure, showing the different styles how this beret can be worn.
So yes, you can wear it as a watch-cap, a commando hat or pulled down deep into the neck.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Daan, one more question.
How do the Orient berets compare to the Catalan Barretines.
Can you wear a Barretines down over your ears?

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Daan, the color of the Kahki Flamingo beret from my poskting from Feb. 12 seems like Curcuma or tumeric.
I have cooked with tumeric and one teaspoon will turn everythng a golden yellow.
It is a color that is easy to wear.

 

[Daan]

Daan, one more question.
How do the Orient berets compare to the Catalan Barretines.
Can you wear a Barretines down over your ears?

Absolutely! This way they become more like a beanie or watch-cap. The Art de la Terra models especially are excellent winter hats, crafted of beautiful thick spun merino wool. The Orient though is heavier and has no connotations to any liberation movement.

The text on the badge on the middle photo, Som i Serem, is a Catalan phrase that translates to “we are and we will be”. A common motto connected with Barcelona and Catalunya.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

The answer to the well worn koan of
"When can a beret cover your ears?"
Answer: "When it is a watch cap."

The Orient beret from Japan via Daan is a true beret construction that fits like a watch cap.
One very warm and comfortable watch cap.
Thick densly felted wool that when doubled up is doubly warm.
I also like the brown on black colors.

The wind is kicking up with another round of cold and rainy weather,
so, a good chance to wear the Orient tomorrow.


Sometimes you just want to have warm ears.

 

[Daan]

Different times. A time that berets would set you back as little as 25 cents at Sears (in 1935, that was):

"We challenge all America with this quality and this price":

The Georges Milton Basque berets were not priced in the ad, but were directed at an American and UK market:

 

[Daan]

Ernesto Cardenal was a Nicaraguan Priest, Poet and Revolutionary.

Rev. Ernesto Cardenal, one of Latin America’s most admired poets and priests, who defied the Roman Catholic Church in the 1980s by serving in the revolutionary Sandinista government of Nicaragua, died on Sunday in Managua, Nicaragua. He was 95.

Born to a wealthy Nicaraguan family, Father Cardenal became a prominent intellectual voice of the Nicaraguan revolution and an ardent proponent of liberation theology, a Christian movement rooted in Marxist principles and committed to social justice and uplifting the poor. He was appointed Nicaragua’s first minister of culture after the Sandinistas overthrew the dictator Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979.

As the Vatican’s opposition to liberation theology intensified in the 1980s under Pope John Paul II, Father Cardenal became a focal point. Before a scheduled visit to Nicaragua in 1983, the pope publicly demanded that Father Cardenal and four other priests who had actively supported the revolution resign their government positions. The Sandinista government refused the demand to replace them but said its invitation to the pope still stood.

After months of public arguing, the pope accepted the invitation and landed in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital. As he walked along a receiving line on the tarmac shaking hands, the pope seemed taken aback to see Father Cardenal among the dignitaries.

While other priests were in clerical garb, Father Cardenal had shown up wearing a collarless white shirt, slacks and his signature black beret over his thick white hair. When he knelt to kiss the pope’s ring, the pope withheld his hand and wagged his finger at him as he spoke to him, apparently sternly.

“Christ led me to Marx,” Father Cardenal said in an interview in 1984. “I don’t think the pope understands Marxism. For me, the four gospels are all equally communist. I’m a Marxist who believes in God, follows Christ, and is a revolutionary for the sake of his kingdom.”

His priestly authority was revoked by Nicaragua’s bishops that same year. Father Cardenal’s suspension was lifted in February 2019, when Pope Francis granted him absolution from “all canonical censorships,” the Vatican News reported.

 

[JimK]

With this corona virus on the move, shaving off my beard and mustache seemed like an easy way to reduce the likelihood of infection. Fortunately I can still protect my head with style... the Boneteria Auloronesa...

 

[alanfgag]

Txapeldun

 

[JimK]

maybe somebody has a subscription and can let the rest of us know the verdict? https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-men-under-60-wear-berets-11583319619

 

[Daan]

maybe somebody has a subscription and can let the rest of us know the verdict? https://www.wsj.com/articles/can-men-under-60-wear-berets-11583319619

Disturbing posts by Jim K; first we learn that he shaved off his majestic beard and then he brings up a Wall Street Journal article titled “Can Men Under 60 Wear Berets?”…
Of course, there is a very short and simple answer to that question, but it confirms a persistent and ill-informed stereotype that many people have of beret wearers.

Like Jim, I’m not a subscriber of the WSJ so couldn’t read the full article, but it resonates with often expressed opinions (by people who don’t wear a beret).

I think the motto “Peaked Cap: For People Who Don’t Dare To Wear A Beret”, which for years was the first sentence on the Boinas Elósegui website (and still is on The Beret Project) says it all (and what does WSJ reporter Jacob Gallagher wear..? A baseballcap!).
Many people (men) fear the beret; they like the idea of wearing a beret; would love to have the confidence to wear a beret; but suffer from the fear to be ridiculed or laughed at.

I can't count the number of times that men told me "they wished they could pull it off" but of course, as we boineros know, they can - it's all just in the mind!
When you feel self-conscious, you will feel very much looked at when wearing anything that isn't what simply everyone else wears. However, when you stop being bothered by what others (might) think, you'll realize that the only thing that makes you look good under a beret is your confidence.

Would the 1000s (or indeed millions) of men who wore their berets every day during the 1950s and 60s ever have thought about whether they could pull it off...

 

[Nico]

With all the chaos going on around me with recent Australian fires then floods, corona virus and crazy work loads and expectations. Decided to wear one of my reality shields. The red Boneteria Auloronesa.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

The postings from the last two weeks are why I tune into this thread.

Alan F. can wear the white Elosegui big beret where no man has gone before.
Nico does have the ultimate realiity shield in the MdB red beret.

The Wall Street Journal article is sure to be b.s. just based on the headline.
It is hidden behind a $300/year pay wall, so it is limited to people in the financial industry.

I now wear a beret all day every day.
But, I change out during the day depending on what I am doing and the situation.

Inside or outside, warm or cold, sunny or cloudy, active or sitting.
A lot of variables, but there is always a beret to suit the situation.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

The New York Times ran an article today about Katsumoto Saotome, who at the
age of 12 survived the US Air Force fire bombing of Tokyo on March 10, 1945.
Katsumoto is a novelist who wears a beret.
He reckons the beret him look like Che Guevara, the guerrilla leader in the Cuban Revolution.

 

[JimK]

I shaved my beard more as a way to wake folks around me up to the need to take this virus seriously - I doubt it'll make much difference in my risk of contagion. One nice thing about a beard, it comes back effortlessly! I do think a smaller beret works better without the beard, more proportional. This is a Fandango:

Fashion trends, fashion advice from newspapers - it's ridiculous!