What is a Beret?

A small floppy hat - fashionable now, and has been for many centuries

Beret is, French for 'cap', and is a brimless, loose-fitting hat originally developed in the Basque region during the 19th century. To this day, the original Basque beret design is considered to be the standard by which all other hats of this style are compared. But the first wearers of these hats were primarily poor French farmers and Basque shepherds, not the Bohemian artists most closely associated with these caps of that time.

As it became more popular, French hat designers modified the style a bit, using wool felt instead of the original knitted wool. In a typical Basque or French beret, a leatherette band is measured against the wearer's head for a proper fit. The wool felt can be dyed in a variety of colors, from the traditional black to burgundy to white. The hat itself is a loose fitting oblong cap, often with a small button on top to hold the sections together. They were usually worn swept to one side, creating a chic, informal line.

Over the years, many different versions appeared, including the Tam-O-Shanter which is an oversized version which was very fashionable between 1970-1980's and also with the Scottish and Irish kilt wearers, often seen worn by bagpipe players. The styles varied as did the number of panels used to create the round shape. Most common is either six or eight panels.

These hats soon became a trademark of sorts for the Bohemian French culture of the early 20th century. French artists, poets and other free-spirited denizens adopted the beret as a symbol of counter-cultural identification, and even today, these people are identified by the attire of that time. The British Army became the first military organization to commission a modified version for use by specialized forces in 1918. Even guerrilla fighters such as Che Guevara adopted this style as their headgear of choice.

During the 1960s, the beret enjoyed a resurgence as a fashion item, featured prominently as Faye Dunaway's hat of choice in the film Bonnie and Clyde.

This style of hat has been one of the most popular, and it's popularity has spanned over several dacades, especially for casual wearing by females. I believe it could be because of the ease of wearing and storing. It is a soft type of hat that can be stored with minimal fuss. so much so, that it could be stuffed into your handbag if the hat is not worn for the total duration of an outing.

Some of these hats are often made from wool and blocked into a flat circular shape with a second layer forming the lower half and allowing the headline to fit the head. These are soft enough to be pushed and pulled to any preferable angle to suit the shape of the face. They are sometimes made from fabrics of all types and these can be worn in the same manner.

A slightly more rigid vesion can be made from rabbit fur felt or a wool fur felt hood or capeline, as it can be blocked into a similar shape and is still referred to as a beret. Its rigidity can vary, as well, and the more sizing or stiffener applied to the hat, the less flexible it would be. Consequently, this means that it would not be as flexible and would not tolerate being squashed into the handbag.

The largest customers, of these style of hats, in the world today are most likely military organizations. The United States Army still has an elite Special Forces unit known worldwide as the Green Berets. Indeed, many international militaries use different colors to distinguish themselves on the battlefield. A decision by the US Army in the 1990s to replace the standard issue 'ballcap' head covers with this form of hat initially met with some resistance, but it has now become an accepted practice. According to the official Army training manual, each recruit should spend an average of two days preparing his or her hat for proper military duty. This means using a cigarette lighter to burn off extraneous wool fibers, a disposable razor to shave off all 'fuzzies' and a warm water soak to customize the fit of the cap.

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