Berets, Anyone?

[Daan]

When I introduced the new Shigematsu and Flamingo berets just under 2 weeks ago, I expected these to be instantly popular, but couldn't foresee that the whole stock would sell within a couple of days...

Happy to write now that new stock has come in (and more is still coming across the Pacific).
New from Flamingo are the small diameter Basque beret in black and the 10p model in navy.

The Shigematsu models are now available in navy and khaki (and you can pre-order black, wine and green models that will come in in 2 weeks’ time).

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Wearing the 10p Flamingo in gray.
Wears like an 11p.
Nice soft felted feel.
Very comfortable fit with an elastic headband.

 

[NoHorse]

Got the Chasseur Alpin today! It’s like the pro version of all berets... thick, heavy and dense.

Sadly, the size 57 is a bit loose on my 56.5mm head. I would suggest anyone in the market for one of these to consider buying a size down. The weight and dimensions of this weather-defying equipage require a solid anchoring on the head. As it is, I am concerned that this one could be lifted clean off my head in the (frequent) windy weather here.

So - what to do? Do these really not shrink at all? I could soak it and see if drying in the warm bathroom will bring it down a size, or even a half size. And I could escalate: soak and hand turn several feet away from a fan heater.

An alternative is to sell it to someone here in the forum at a steep discount. I can have it mailed from inside the EU if that is an advantage.

ideas and opinions welcome!

PS the Nutria: wow! Light and fluffy. I look forward to warm-weather beret-ing in 2020!

 

[JimK]

Got the Chasseur Alpin today! It’s like the pro version of all berets... thick, heavy and dense.

Sadly, the size 57 is a bit loose on my 56.5mm head. I would suggest anyone in the market for one of these to consider buying a size down. The weight and dimensions of this weather-defying equipage require a solid anchoring on the head. As it is, I am concerned that this one could be lifted clean off my head in the (frequent) windy weather here.

So - what to do? Do these really not shrink at all? I could soak it and see if drying in the warm bathroom will bring it down a size, or even a half size. And I could escalate: soak and hand turn several feet away from a fan heater.

An alternative is to sell it to someone here in the forum at a steep discount. I can have it mailed from inside the EU if that is an advantage.

ideas and opinions welcome!

PS the Nutria: wow! Light and fluffy. I look forward to warm-weather beret-ing in 2020!

 

[JimK]

I have the 61 cm Chasseur Alpin. My head circumference is 24 inches, between 61 and 62. My 61cm beret fits mighty snug! It doesn't really stretch out any more than it shrinks!

 

[Daan]

To my own surprise, the new Japan made Shigematsu and Flamingo berets are an unprecedented success (never before did I place 3 orders within 6 weeks). It brings up the question: Why? What is so special about Japanese berets?

I think the answer lies in the perfectionism that the Japanese show in making, and caring for, a product. I dare say that some European beret manufacturers could learn a bit from the eye for detail and superb finishing of their Japanese counterparts (I won’t use the word ‘competitor’ as it is practically impossible to buy these berets outside Japan – only at South Pacific Berets).

The Flamingo berets are made by the Yoshida hat factory in Kumamoto Prefecture, dedicated to the manufacturing of Basque berets since 1967. The whole manufacturing process is done in-house and the production capacity of berets is the best in Japan (likely the country that hosts most Basque beret factories in the world).

One detail that is specific for Flamingo berets, is the dyeing and washing of the berets with Mount Aso groundwater (Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan and is among the largest in the world). The result is a beautifully coloured beret that is ultra-soft to the touch.

Strange but true, it was hard establishing a relationship with the company and find a way to import these berets - a first time ever for Flamingo to export!
A fact is that berets are probably worn more in Japan than anywhere else (possibly with the exception of parts of the Spanish Basque Country), and there is a large number of (very) small manufacturers producing some of the finest berets.

Apart from Flamingo berets, I now stock the incredibly nice Shigematsu Basque berets (new colours have just arrived!) and the ultra-light and soft Velour series without 'chobo' (cabillou).

 

[Tiki Tom]

Question: In preparation for winter, this afternoon I plan to buy my third authentic Basque beret, hand-made in Spain, etc. I say third because the other two --after a winter or two-- have shrunk. I'm a bit in denial about this. I thought the whole point of a Basque beret was because they are supposedly almost indestructible. I suspect it is rain water and how I then let it dry (?). And these are not cheap Chinese knock-offs; at least I hope not as I buy them from a very respectable hatter. Any words of wisdom for yours truly?

Update: so I bought a Elosegui for about 45 Euros. It's beautiful.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

The natural tendency of wool is to shrink when wet.
So wear a beret in the rain a lot and it will tend to shrink somewhat.

You wear a beret long enough in the heat, the cold, the wet,
then every beret will at some time need to be cleaned.
I know it borders on heresy,
but I wash my berets, both wool and cotton in warm water.

When washed the natural tendency for a wool beret is to shrink.
So, do not wash with hot water and after wringing all the excess water out with a towel,
gently stretch the entire beret to its original shape.

The rim of every Elosegui beret that I have needed to be stretched before it would fit comfortably.
I use the Hat Jack stretcher. It will stretch a hat or beret to any size you want.
My warning is that you can easily stretch a beret beyond want you want because
the Hat Jack has a lot of torque.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

So, a question for Daan,
The Japanese Flamingo beret seems to be constructed of felted wool fabric,
compared to a traditional Basque beret which is knitted in concentric circles.
As Daan has pointed out, the Japanese berets are plumper.
Since they seemed to be formed, felted and shaped.
they have extra fatric on the under side.
So, the Japanese berets do not lay flat such that the underside pouches up when laid flat.
It seems to me the 10p Flamingo wears more like an 11p because of the
extra fabric.
In any event, the Japaese obsession with quality rings through in my Flamingo beret.

 

[Daan]

So, a question for Daan,
The Japanese Flamingo beret seems to be constructed of felted wool fabric,
compared to a traditional Basque beret which is knitted in concentric circles.
As Daan has pointed out, the Japanese berets are plumper.
Since they seemed to be formed, felted and shaped.
they have extra fatric on the under side.
So, the Japanese berets do not lay flat such that the underside pouches up when laid flat.
It seems to me the 10p Flamingo wears more like an 11p because of the
extra fabric.
In any event, the Japaese obsession with quality rings through in my Flamingo beret.

No, no, no.... Both the Flamingo and Shigematsu berets are made in the traditional way as any other real Basque beret! That means, knitted from one single thread (which can be 2.4km / 1.49 mile long!), then washed and fulled (felted), modeled under steam and then dried on a mold. Although the chobo (cabillou) is not present on the Flamingo 10p model, you can still feel it's base when you carefully feel the center of the beret.
The only "construction" on the Flamingo 10 is the headband that is sewed on.

But Bouwerij_Jongen, you are absolutely right when saying that the 10p Flamingo has the look and feel of an 11p beret (I know as I have been wearing mine for the last 5 days or so).
On a sideline; all Flamingo berets are washed and dyed with Mt Aso (Japan's largest active volcano) groundwater. The minerals in the water have an effect on the colour (stability) and softness of the beret.

The Shigematsu is just as genuine a Basque beret (with the chobo/cabillou in place) but has been shaped under steam to create a roomier hood; when laid flat it measures 9.5p, but similar to the Flamingo 10, it appears and feels wider when worn. The special design is by Aya Sekino (a famous Japanese designer).

One added benefit of the Shigematsu beret is that it stays on in the strongest gusts of wind (believe me; here in Wellington we laugh when people name Chicago as the "Windy City") and there is enough material to pull the beret deep over your head on a cold day.

The Beroa series (velour) too are genuine Basque berets, knitted with a single thread in a predominantly rayon fiber (and with the chobo removed).

The rayon fiber makes for a very soft and comfortable fit and offers great insulation - warm in winter, cool in summer and at a very good price.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Daan,
Thanks for clarifying how the Japanese berets are knitted like a traditional Basque beret.
My Flamingo beret 10p beret feels thick and soft.
It is warm and the elastic head band makes the beret very comfortable for wearing all day.

 

[NoHorse]

I have also found that my berets shrink. Now I walk to and from work, about two kilometers each way. When there is rain, my berets get wet. Really wet. So, they shrink. I have a general notion that my 1858 has shrunk more than my Auloronesas, though if there is a difference it’s not much.

One result of this experience is that I would recommend selecting a diameter a bit larger than you are aiming for if you are out and about in all weather.

I have been in touch with Laulhere’s shop in Paris regarding my Alpin. Natasha there apologized for her (near-perfect) English and was very helpful indeed. A nugget to share: if you somehow have a sized Laulhere with a leather headband, and find it too small, then the factory can replace the headband with one closer to your size. (I suspect that using a hat jack might serve just as well. I used mine when I still wore fedoras.)

I strongly suspect that even my Alpin will shrink, at least a bit. So, I’m keeping it and waiting for some rainy days. I will report back with my experience.

 

[Nico]

Supposed to be late Spring here in Australia but temperatures have dropped. Ideal day for my Bordeaux Boneteria Auloronesa.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Question for Daan,
On a tour of the Languedoc this year our tour guide, who was Basque,
told me that in the past in the Basque Country each region had its own way of wearing a beret.
So, you could look at someone and have a good idea where they came from.
He mentioned a famous Basque political leader from Bilboa who wore his beret pulled
to one side and tilted to the front.
Daan, what is your take on all this?

 

[Daan]

Question for Daan,
On a tour of the Languedoc this year our tour guide, who was Basque,
told me that in the past in the Basque Country each region had its own way of wearing a beret.
So, you could look at someone and have a good idea where they came from.
He mentioned a famous Basque political leader from Bilboa who wore his beret pulled
to one side and tilted to the front.
Daan, what is your take on all this?

My take..? I can only confirm this, or better, it wasn't so much by region, but often subtle changes in how the beret was worn differed from village to village, or even hamlet to hamlet. This was certainly true for the Basque Country (on either side of the French/Spanish border), but also in the agricultural regions of the south of France, eg Languedoc and Ariège.

Not sure which political leader your tour guide referred to; it could be Philippe (also Filipe) Bidart, (1953, Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) who is a historic leader of the revolutionary organization Basque Iparretarrak. He typically wears a large (Chasseur Alpin size) beret, always pulled to the right and over the right eye (see pictures above).

Your guide probably didn't mean centenarian and life-long (beret wearing) activist/leader Trifón Cañamares, who is an active member of the PCE (Spanish Communist party) since 1936 (pictures above). He always wears his beret, or boina pulled to the left and rear of the head.

More likely your guide meant Sabino Arana Goiri, self-styled as Arana ta Goiri'taŕ Sabin, (January 26, 1865 – November 25, 1903), who was a Basque writer and the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) and father of Basque nationalism. Beret always tilted to the (front) right.

Alas, this is all about political leaders and not about the subtle differences of beret wearing in rural France and Spain. To learn details on that, you'd really have to find an old boinero who has lived his long life in the same house his parents and great-grandparents did and I'm confident you'll hear more on these local traditions than you could possibly imagine!

Interesting detail on a related subject: workers (typically socialist inclined) in Italy started wearing navy berets (basco Roma) to differentiate from the black berets worn by the clergy and the bosses.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Daan,
thanks for the great photos and commentary on historical beret wearers.
Your comments refreshed my memory, our guide did say the ways of beret wearing were different from village to village.
This makes sense given that while one village may be close to another as the crow flys,
travel usually meant a journey on foot or horseback along steep tralls in river valleys or over mountains.
Fran, our guide, showed me an image on his phone that looked like Sabino Arana Goiri, the founder of the Basque Nationalist Party.
I remember the beret tilted to the front right.

 

[Daan]

Although it feels still a long time away while typing this on a sunny NZ spring day, Christmas is approaching rapidly and that means longer delivery times and especially a longer time to receive your parcel in time for the holidays. Australians need to order no later than 3 December, while American and European customers need to order before 30 November. Customers from other countries need to place their order before 27 November to receive their beret(s) in time for the holidays.

Christmas in the Basque Country starts with the Feast of Santo Tomas on 21 December, a celebration in which most people go out onto the streets to dance and eat talo with txistorra (a type of Basque chorizo).

They wear a traditional outfit called the casera dress. For girls it consists of a long skirt and a long-sleeved old-fashioned shirt with headscarves and aprons. The boys wear a long black shirt, trousers and txapela (the traditional large diameter black beret). They wear caseras because that is what the people of the mountain wear and the holiday used to celebrate the peasants who sold their goods in town and came on Santo Tomas to pay rent to landlords in the city.

In the Basque Country the equivalent of Santa is Olentzero, and Olentzero lives or lived (depending on what you believe) in the mountains, and he wears the boys' casera. He is a mythical Basque character who is widely portrayed as a messenger who cries out that it is Christmas time throughout all the corners of the Basque Country. In some versions, the Olentzero is a farmer or a shepherd. Nevertheless, it is common in all of the tales that the Olentzero brings good news to people.

He is also known as the coal man who comes down from the mountains on his pottok (wild Basque horse) to hand out presents to children. Chestnuts and wine are given to the villagers. By tradition, on December 24, the Basque television and radio stations broadcast that the Olentzero has begun his journey from the mountains to children's homes.

In Francoist Spain (1939 - 1975), Olentzero was banned as a symbol of regional separatism. It was only after the Spanish transition to democracy that the tradition was restored to the Basque Country.

On Christmas Day all the children in the Basque Country go to sleep early and they leave their shoes in the middle of whatever room in the house that isn't the bathroom or their bedroom. Olentzero leaves all the presents beside the shoes.

 

[NoHorse]

Oh dear oh dear...

I discover that my location name has odious associations!

Shall I make it "pen-Arrokoth"? (Tongue-in-cheek for those in the know...)

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

I always have a good reason for buying another beret,
it may be I don't have that color or size or brand.
But I have been wanting a natural color beret to go with
a LeLaboureur wool jacket in oatmeal, a marled white and brown.
So, I got my first Hispano Basque in natural from Daan.
The Hispano is a nice mid weight beret that fits comfortably
and is what you expect from a Basque beret,
and at a nice price.

 

[Bouwerij_Jongen]

Beat me Daddy, eight to the bar.

I finally bought a 9.5p beret, the Shigematsu in wine.
I bought it knowing it fits and looks more like a traditional 10p.
The label says its is sized for 57.5 cm, and it fits my 59 cm head comfortably.
Will keep my head covered comfortably during the upcoming holday indoor get togethers.