Beret

A traditional Basque-style beret (with headband folded in).

Military use of beret (Commandant Soutiras, Officer of the French Chasseurs alpins)

A beret (/ˈbɛreɪ/ BERR-ay or /bəˈreɪ/ bə-RAY; French: [beˈʁɛ]) is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat, designated a "cap", usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, or wool felt, or acrylic fiber.

The modern beret is derived from the Greek pilos, which came to be known in Rome as the pileolus and later, beretto. It was first mass-produced in 19th century France and Spain; countries with which it remains associated. Berets are worn as part of the uniform of many military and police units worldwide, as well as by other organizations.

Etymology

Beret (originally berret and berretto) is from the diminutive form biretum of the Latinized Greek word birrus, which was the name of a knit sailor's cap. This word is probably a close relative to Old Irish berr 'short', Welsh byr, Breton berr 'short', all thought to be from Proto-Celtic *birro-. But there are also more ancient forms, from the older Greek birrus and the slightly later Latin pilus. These give us the related English words "berry" and "pillow".

History

Henry VIII wearing a beret of the period (1509)

Archaeology and art history indicate that headgear similar to the modern beret has been worn since the Bronze Age across northern Europe and as far south as ancient Crete and Italy, where it was worn by the Minoans, Romans and Etruscans. Such headgear has been popular among the nobility and artists across Europe throughout modern history.

The Scots bonnaid ("bonnet") derives from the same source, and the Gaelic term also derives from the Latin pilus.

The so-called "Basque" beret was worn by Basque shepherds in the Pyrenees, a mountain range that straddles the border between southern France and northern Spain. The colors originally varied by region (red in Gipuzkoa, white in Álava, blue in Vizcaya), but eventually the Basques settled on blue berets, and the people from Navarre adopted red berets as part of their folk costume while the black beret became common headgear in France and Spain.

The commercial production of Basque style berets began in the 17th century in the Oloron-Sainte-Marie area of southern France. Originally a local craft, beret-making became industrialized in the nineteenth century. The first factory, Beatex-Laulhere, claims production records dating back to 1810. By the 1920s, berets were associated with the working classes in France, and by 1928 more than 20 French factories produced millions of berets.

In Western fashion, men and women have worn the beret since the 1920s as sportswear and later as a fashion statement. Military berets were adopted by Alpine troops in World War I, and popularized as a badge of elite units by Field Marshal Montgomery in World War II.

Wear

The beret fits snugly around the head, and can be "shaped" in a variety of ways – in the Americas it is commonly worn pushed to one side. In Central and South America, local custom usually prescribes the manner of wearing the beret; there is no universal rule and older gentlemen usually wear it squared on the head, jutting forward. It can be worn by both men and women.

Military uniform berets feature a headband or sweatband attached to the wool, made either from leather, silk, or cotton ribbon, sometimes with a drawstring allowing the wearer to tighten the hat. The drawstrings are, according to custom, either tied and cut off/tucked in or else left to dangle. The beret is often adorned with a cap badge, either in cloth or metal. Some berets have a piece of buckram or other stiffener in the position where the badge is intended to be worn.

Berets are not usually lined, but many are partially lined with silk or satin. In military berets, the headband is worn on the outside; military berets often have external sweatbands of leather, pleather or ribbon. The traditional beret (also worn by selected military units, such as the Belgian Chasseurs Ardennais or the French Chasseurs Alpins), usually has the "sweatband" folded inwardly. In such a case, these berets have only an additional inch or so of the same woolen material designed to be folded inwardly.

New beret styles, fully lined and made of "Polar fleece", have become popular. These are unique in that they are machine washable.

National traditions and variants

France

The black beret was once considered the national cap of France in Anglo-Saxon countries and is part of the stereotypical image of the Onion Johnny. It is no longer as widely worn as it once was. There are only two manufacturers left in France (the world-famous Hoquy family among them).

Spain

In Spain, berets are known as boinas or chapelas (from the Basque, txapela; also the Basque chapo after the French chapeau). They have long been common headgear, especially across the northern part of the country, in regions such as Navarre, Basque Country, Cantabria, Asturias and Galicia. They tend to be less common in the warmer south central and southern regions.

Basque Country

Olentzero, a Basque Christmas figure, wears a beret.

Berets came to be popularized across Europe and other parts of the world as typical Basque headgear, as reflected in their name in several languages (e.g. Baskenmütze in German, Basco in Italian or Baskeri in Finnish). Though common and quite old, this is an erroneous view since the cap's origin is Greco-Roman. They are very popular and common in the Basque Country. A commemorative beret is the usual trophy in sport or bertso competitions, including Basque rural sports or the Basque portions of the Tour de France.

Scotland

The traditional bonnet of the Kilwinning Archers of Scotland

There are several Scottish variants of the beret, notably the Scottish bonnet or Bluebonnet (originally bonaid in Gaelic), whose ribbon cockade and feathers identify the wearer’s clan and rank), and which is a symbol of Scottish patriotism. Other Scottish types include the tam-o'-shanter (named by Robert Burns after a character in one of his poems) and the striped Kilmarnock cap, both of which feature a large pompom in the center.

South America

In South America, both wool and cotton berets are commonly seen as headwear among Gauchos in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile, most of which are manufactured by Bonigor SA of Argentina and Fábrica Nacional de Sombreros of Uruguay. Though common enough among the general population, berets seem to be avoided by indigenous groups. Most likely the wearing of the beret, as in Spain, is largely dependent on the climate.

Uses

As uniform headgear

The beret's practicality has long made it an item of European military clothing. It has often become a part of the uniform of soldiers, both informally and formally; a practise that has, in recent times, been copied around the world (see Military beret and Uniform beret). Among a few well known historic examples are the Scottish soldiers, who wore the blue bonnet in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Volontaires Cantabres, a French force raised in the Basque country in the 1740s to the 1760s, who also wore a blue beret, and the Carlist rebels, with their red berets, in 1830s Spain.

In fashion and culture

The beret is part of the long-standing stereotype of the intellectual, film director, artist, "hipsters", poet, bohemians and beatniks. In America and Britain, the middle of the twentieth century saw an explosion of berets in women's fashion. In the later part of the twentieth century, the beret was adopted by the Chinese both as a fashion statement and for its political undertones.

As a revolutionary symbol

The "Guerrillero Heroico" portrait of Che Guevara

One of the most famous photographs of the Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara, El Guerrillero Heroico, shows him wearing a black beret with a red star.

In the 1960s several activist groups adopted the black beret. These include the Black Panther Party of the United States, formed in 1966, the "Black Beret Cadre" (a similar Black Power organisation in Bermuda), the Provisional Irish Republican Army and the ETA guerrillas (who wore black berets over hoods in public appearances). In addition, the Brown Berets were a Chicano organisation formed in 1967. The Young Lords Party, a Latino revolutionary organization in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, also wore berets.

Rastafarians

Rastafarian with beret

Adherents of the Rastafari movement often wear a very large knitted or crocheted black beret with red, gold, and green circles atop their dreadlocks. The style is often erroneously called a kufi, after the skullcap known as kufune. They consider the beret and dreadlocks to be symbols of the biblical covenant of God with his chosen people, the "black Israelites".

See also

• Biretta
• Military berets by color: Black beret, blue beret, green beret, maroon beret, tan beret
• Mohair berets
• Tudor bonnet
• Caubeen
• Zucchetto

External links

• Vietnam US Special Forces Berets RallyPointMilitaria.com 2009
• Page at canadiansoldiers.com on berets in the Canadian military
• Beret Look a Keeper for One Trend Tester by Dionne Walker, Associated Press, January 22 2009
• History of USAF Security Police Beret
• Vive le Beret: The Slouchy Felt Headgear is Selling like Hot Croissants in France by Harriet Walker, The Independent, April 15 2009
• My Kingdom for a Crown
• Beret FAQ's