Berets, Anyone?

[Inkstains]

Alas, the price of berets everywhere is going to skyrocket now that Hollywood is jumping into the game. Has everyone seen the So.Pacific Beret blog post today? Just remember what James Bond did to the price of Aston Martins. You used to pick one up for $6,500. And to think, we'll look back on a day when the best berets in the world cost $100 or less.

 

[milliedog]

to paraphrase George Bush II " fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." :eusa_doh:

 

[esteban68]

Just. A note for interested parties, there are a couple of old fashioned hat shops in the Plaza Major in Madrid not too far from where the hold the El Rastro market, and they both had quite a few decent berets in priced from 20 euros up to 40 or so.

 

[Vilna]

I've just ordered a monster sized beret from Ron Greer. I must say looking at your picture it looks great. The first beret I had was a chasseur alpin beret. I got it in Grenoble years ago, but over time the stem came of, a pity. The chasseur alpin berets are I bit difficult to get hold outside France. I tried to order one the other day from a French online store but when should pay for it up came a notice that they don't ship outside France. Great way of doing business. No surprise that French berets manufacturers are doing poorly in the market place. But now I'll get this Spanish one. Say what you want but wearing these over sized berets is a clear statement that you are a rugged individualist.

 

[ebonysw45]

Hi Vilna,

PM me you contact details with you head size in cm and I will check with the person in France who I purchase my 2 nos chasseur alpin berets from.

 

[RJR]

Check South Pacific Beret site for that beret.

 

[Daan]

I've just ordered a monster sized beret from Ron Greer. I must say looking at your picture it looks great. The first beret I had was a chasseur alpin beret. I got it in Grenoble years ago, but over time the stem came of, a pity. The chasseur alpin berets are I bit difficult to get hold outside France. I tried to order one the other day from a French online store but when should pay for it up came a notice that they don't ship outside France. Great way of doing business. No surprise that French berets manufacturers are doing poorly in the market place. But now I'll get this Spanish one. Say what you want but wearing these over sized berets is a clear statement that you are a rugged individualist.

All bérets Chasseur Alpin are available here (and I dare say, generally more affordable than anywhere else). Better even, now Boneteria Auloronesa made it's own bérets Alpin, and this is a very hard to beat beret in both quality and comfort.

Similar to it's bérets Universel, Boneteria Auloronesa fits these with an internal drawstring, making these berets perfectly size adjustable and taking all need for stretching away. Simple as it may look, the process to make berets with an internal drawstring is difficult and can only be done when produced in very small numbers (a maximum of 10 berets per batch), as there is little time to do the fitting and sewing before the felt rim starts to play up, creating wrinkles and an uneven surface.

An added bonus of this adjustable rim is that even in the gale force wind we regularly experience in Wellington, this massive beret stays perfectly put on my head!

 

[Daan]

A great video spot by Basque TV station EITB, with berets featuring prominently:


[video=youtube;YTmQ7LkOCHc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTmQ7LkOCHc[/video]

 

[Daan]

Another great spot by EITB:

[video=youtube;KB2gJbK2z7M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB2gJbK2z7M[/video]

 

[Daan]

What a tasteless thing to do...

[video=youtube;MDfk8z7UUTk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDfk8z7UUTk[/video]

My friend John sent me this beautiful link of a very young, but bereted, Harrison Ford punching (an also very young) Jack Lemmon in the face, in 1967.

 

[Two Types]

These have come out of the archives. Here I am in a beret in May 1981 (as a 15 year old on a school trip):

And in the late 1980s, wearing a Czech 'Radiovka' beret that I bought in Prague in 1982:

I don't think I've worn a beret for twenty years. So I'm planning to buy a new one.

 

[Daan]

And in the late 1980s, wearing a Czech 'Radiovka' beret that I bought in Prague in 1982:

I don't think I've worn a beret for twenty years. So I'm planning to buy a new one.

Nice picture, and very fitting for Prague in the 80's. I often visited Czechslovakia in that period, before the Velvet Revolution, and saw many people wearing berets, both Radiovka's and larger diameters.
Last time I visited Prague I saw practically none - a few old men and well outside the city... It's called progress, I believe.

 

[Daan]

On SPECIAL this week: Baskenmütze!

These Baskenmütze (German for 'Basque beret') are made in the historical hatters town of Luckenwalde, in the former G.D.R.
To be more precise, these berets are a Franco-German co-production: the plain hoods, consisting of pure merino wool, come from France and are then modified, lined, "head-banded" and finished in Germany. To the best of my knowledge, nowhere else outside Germany available, but here.

The Baskenmütze with external rim are quite different from any other beret at South Pacific Berets, having a small rim of felted-wool sewn on to the head-opening, effectively lifting the beret a few millimetres from the head. The actual head-opening is finished with a narrow strip of black leatherette. The berets are finished with two air vents and an unusual pleasant lining.
The combination of the small lift with air vents causes air ventilation between the scalp and the beret, making these berets very comfortable and excellent for warmer conditions.
Diameter 26.5cm. Available in Black and Navy at a reduced price of $43.50 only.

The historical hat factory in Luckenwalde. The factory was designed by German architect Erich Mendelsohn in 1923, the factory is considered a milestone of Expressionist architecture. The hat factory fell into disrepair during and after the war period and was restored in 2001, but as of today, the building remains empty.

 

[Two Types]

That factory is fantastic. It reminds me of a curiously stripped down version of The Wooden Horse - bizarre, but beautiful.

 

[Daan]

That factory is fantastic. It reminds me of a curiously stripped down version of The Wooden Horse - bizarre, but beautiful.

Agreed, and there are actually quite a few more interesting (historical) beret factories. Below two pictures of the KANGOL factory in Cleator (UK), started in 1938 by (Russian born) Jakob Henryk Spreiregen. The name KANGOL comes from silK, ANGora and woOL. The factories in Cleator and nearby Frizington used to employ hundreds of people, making fashion hats, Basque and military berets. The factories have closed, only a head office in Cleator with all manufacturing now in China.

It is not that long ago that the South of France (and more specifically the area around Oloron Sainte Marie) counted many small beret manufacturers. These days, there is only one left: Laulhere. Until 1993, there was another in Oloron Ste. Marie: Beighau.

110 years before, Zechariah Beighau set up business as a wine merchant in Oloron St Marie, and in 1928 his son Xavier started the manufacturing of berets under the family name Beighau. The business expanded rapidly. In 1945, son Maurice joins his father in the company (he took over the business in 1980). This is still the time that many Frenchmen (and many others) saw the beret as a standard part of their clothing and berets were manufactured in great numbers. In 1977 Beighau produces 450.000 berets (65% export!) and employs 40 people.
The general decline in wearing hats and strong competition from Asian countries made Maurice, and his son Pierre decide to end the business in 1996. Most machinery went to Laulhere (including the ownership of the labels).

The arch on the picture above stood in front of the Elósegui Factory in Tolosa, during the Royal visit in 1887 and was formed by berets in eleven colours, with the red ones most prominent, symbolising the liberal concept in the Basque provinces, and on the main frontispiece there was an inscription offering a greeting and welcome, written in Basque. The Queen visited the beret factory at length.

If it wasn't for the collection of the Museum Rotterdam, not much would be known about the "Hoeden- en Pettenfabriek VERO", a Dutch hat, cap and beret factory that was in operation from 1885 and shut it's doors in 1973.

These days the old factory building houses the Gültepe mosque - the first mosque of Rotterdam.

Jean-Pierre Barraban was the founder of the Barraban Berets Factory in 1792 (so well before Blancq-Olibet, the oldest beret manufacturer still in operation since 1819 until earlier this year) . Barraban was born in Abos on March 25, 1770 and died October 30, 1840 in Oloron Sainte Marie, the "beret capital" of the world. His successors continued the business until it's closer in the 2nd half of last century.

On the place where once the factory stood, you'll find a semi-covered car park; the frame and roof parts of the original factory building - all that remains of the factory.

I'll have to dig into the archives, sure there is more material on beret factories. To be continued...

 

[Daan]

Two types, I really like the combo beret-polo shirt, I always used Fred Perry but nowadays are prohibitively expensive here.

Soon I will have to switch to the summer beret, (june '13, Castilla cotton, Huracan shirt, gaucho belt, "bombacha de campo" trousers and "alpargatas" shoes.

"Bombachas de campo", I love 'm! My first pair came from Argentina; since then, my Indian tailor inside Wellington's railway station made me 3 exact copies. from a black with white pin-stripe to this heavy duty brown canvas pair. Why are there so few people wearing bombachas?
No alpargatas (espadrilles) for me; I stick to the (once French, now Chinese made) Palladium boots and Soviet military belt. LL Bean flannel shirt and a boina Super Lujo on my head to top it off.

 

[Daan]

Your roll!

By no means can I copy the elegance of 1280almas' imitation of Jesus Quintana in The Big Lebowski (Jesus Quintana: Let me tell you something, pendejo. You pull any of your crazy shit with us, you flash a piece out on the lanes, I'll take it away from you, stick it up your ass and pull the ****ing trigger 'til it goes "click."
The Dude: Jesus.
Jesus Quintana: You said it, man. Nobody ****s with the Jesus. )

Anyway, I tried my best, with 11p Auloronesa beret and bombachas de campo.

 

[Two Types]

My first beret in more than 20 years:

 

[alsendk]

Looks good on you. The fine thing about a beret, is the personal possibilities to arrange it to your own choice

 

[Daan]

Fellow FL-visitor Simón sent me two cans of fish from Spain, the depicted fishermen proudly wearing txapelas, naturally.

That requires some more serious Basque beret/fishermen related material:

And then there are always the old men, waiting in the port: