Berets, Anyone?

[Nico]

Photos of my berets to date (Thanks Daan SPB)

 

[RJR]

Photos of my berets to date (Thanks Daan SPB)
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Nice,I like the look/fit of #1.

 

[Daan]

Literally just arrived, 2 hours ago, and already on the South Pacific Berets web site: the brand new Boinas Cataluña Merino - the luxurious version of the standard Boinas Castilla in a denser quality pure Uruguayan merino wool.

Available in 4 colours at only $57.50.

Meanwhile, the (long awaited) cotton Castillas in beige and Plato Grande-red are back in stock, just like the Plato Grandes in merino.

Great material from the country that has the highest density of beret wearers in the world! Better still, the boinas Castilla have been much reduced in price.

 

[foamy]

Photos of my berets to date (Thanks Daan SPB)
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You're a natural. You wear them well.

Haven't been on board for a spell (work gets in the way). However, it doesn't get in the way of wearing berets—which I've been doing a lot of recently. Big breeze is a sure indicator that I'll be wearing one and it's been very breezy here for the past couple of weeks. It's nice to have a little variety when stepping out—ask anyone on this board. I'm expecting my first non-black beret in a few days and I expect to experiment a good bit more in the future (with color, that is). Those berets from Uruguay (oodaway is how my friend pronounces it—she's from there originally) have been piquing my curiosity for some time now. Particularly the Nutria in natural, hmm. Would that be a decent summer beret without moving to cotton?

 

[RJR]

You're a natural. You wear them well.

Haven't been on board for a spell (work gets in the way). However, it doesn't get in the way of wearing berets—which I've been doing a lot of recently. Big breeze is a sure indicator that I'll be wearing one and it's been very breezy here for the past couple of weeks. It's nice to have a little variety when stepping out—ask anyone on this board. I'm expecting my first non-black beret in a few days and I expect to experiment a good bit more in the future (with color, that is). Those berets from Uruguay (oodaway is how my friend pronounces it—she's from there originally) have been piquing my curiosity for some time now. Particularly the Nutria in natural, hmm. Would that be a decent summer beret without moving to cotton?

IMO,it would be ok until it gets really warm then cotton is in order.

 

[foamy]

IMO,it would be ok until it gets really warm then cotton is in order.

Hmm. Just looking at the Deer brand polyester ones. They look great—but small.

 

[Nico]

You're a natural. You wear them well.

Haven't been on board for a spell (work gets in the way). However, it doesn't get in the way of wearing berets—which I've been doing a lot of recently. Big breeze is a sure indicator that I'll be wearing one and it's been very breezy here for the past couple of weeks. It's nice to have a little variety when stepping out—ask anyone on this board. I'm expecting my first non-black beret in a few days and I expect to experiment a good bit more in the future (with color, that is). Those berets from Uruguay (oodaway is how my friend pronounces it—she's from there originally) have been piquing my curiosity for some time now. Particularly the Nutria in natural, hmm. Would that be a decent summer beret without moving to cotton?

G'Day foamy.
Thank you for the kind comments.
Its just starting to cool down here (Australia) now wearing the berets when I venture out. Its such a nice bit of headgear to wear and I like having a choice of colours. Keep us posted if you go with a cotton beret.

Cheers
N

 

[mparker762]

The Franco-German Baskenmütze for example has an external headband like military berets and also 2 air vents on the side ...
...
I am always surprised how few people choose these berets. Both models are actually extremely comfortable and I wear mine regularly.

I have to concur on the comfort factor. I have a variety of spanish, french, german (and japanese as of yesterday - thanks Daan) berets, but my Baskenmutze is unequivocally my favorite and easily gets 75% of the wear. The band is very soft, and the vent holes (discreetly hidden under the flight) are doing their job keeping things cool while I'm sitting out here smoking some ribs here in South Texas. When I originally ordered it I was a bit nervous that the 165cm diameter might be a bit small, but on the head it's comparable to my 185cm Laulhere - I think the lift is what does it, you don't need as much width because it doesn't have to reach down so far.

 

[mparker762]

I'm sitting out here smoking some ribs here in South Texas.

Forgot a picture...

 

[NoHorse]

Daan

In your post 1292 I see little boxes with

 

[Trenchfriend]

Wonderful!!

 

[mparker762]

And so, the next question: how does one break it a beret?

And, lastly, (for now) Daan recommends streching with a hat jack, while Ron Greer has a video showing a circumferential stretching. My bean is a very long oval... So should I stretch circumferentially because the beret is round, or in one diection because my head is so oval?

This I can help with - my head is also a long oval - actually more egg shaped but definitely nowhere near round. For a bandless beret like yours I stretch it out a little bit using Greer's method, then when it's tight but wearable I simply start wearing it and let it finish stretching on my head. You can also use Greer's method on the sides of the beret to lengthen it to match, though that's a lot of material to move so when I did that to my 10.5p super lujo I made a long oval beret form (1/2" plywood, jigsaw, and dremel) - soaked the beret thoroughly, popped the form in, and let it dry for a few days.

The only other break-in I do is to soften the crease around the diameter so the silhouette doesn't look so angular. For that I turn it inside out and lay a heavy book on it overnight.

 

[RJR]

This I can help with - my head is also a long oval - actually more egg shaped but definitely nowhere near round. For a bandless beret like yours I stretch it out a little bit using Greer's method, then when it's tight but wearable I simply start wearing it and let it finish stretching on my head. You can also use Greer's method on the sides of the beret to lengthen it to match, though that's a lot of material to move so when I did that to my 10.5p super lujo I made a long oval beret form (1/2" plywood, jigsaw, and dremel) - soaked the beret thoroughly, popped the form in, and let it dry for a few days.

The only other break-in I do is to soften the crease around the diameter so the silhouette doesn't look so angular. For that I turn it inside out and lay a heavy book on it overnight.

I do pretty much the same except I put it on a band block.

 

[Nico]

Finally received the Laulhere XV Rugby beret. Its a little beauty, now to break it in.

 

[NoHorse]

Thanks mparker762 and RJR.

My Super Lujo 265 seems to be in working order. I guess I got there by way of a little bit of all methods I could think of. I have not stretched it in any particular direction.

My 255 is another story! I am still struggling with it, and as I have noted here earlier, it appears to contract a little after every stretching. Also, the material between the opening and the 'outer edge' of the beret is limited and doesn't have a lot of give. Consequently, when I stretch the opening the beret almost gets a 'T' shaped profile. To counteract that I have to stretch the side material so that there is a gradual widening from the rim to the opening.

Everybody writes about getting the wool wet, yet it's Teflon coated (unfortunately) and doesn't seem to get rally soaked.

 

[Kreissaege]

Warmth and humidity ( = sweat) do the trick

 

[RJR]

Warmth and humidity ( = sweat) do the trick

Agree.

 

[NoHorse]

Hah! That gave me good laugh...

At first I misread and thought it said "warmth and humility"... I spun off into musings about 'beret personalities', the 'French Persona', the, um, well the basqueness of the Basques, and wondered if I could live up (or perhaps down) to such requirements.

Hmmm... Has anyone worn a tight-fitting beret in a hot shower?

 

[mparker762]

Everybody writes about getting the wool wet, yet it's Teflon coated (unfortunately) and doesn't seem to get rally soaked.

Mine will get wet if I leave in the sink for 10 minutes or so. Wool doesn't feel wet the way that cotton does, though, so it can be a bit deceiving.

 

[Daan]

Daan

In your post 1292 I see little boxes with

Yes, something seems to have gone wrong there, but despite endless trying in various ways, TFL doesn't let me edit it - I assume they give you only a certain amount of time after posting to edit...? Alas, you'll find all the photo's of the new Boinas Cataluña here.

I have worn mine a lot over the last week; got a real liking for this beret at the present, in between seasons time. Let's see if I can still post pictures:

This one was taken while tramping the Tararua Mountains last week. Great beret when working yourself in a sweat! This one was the week before, first day breaking it in on a walk of Tinakori Hill, here in Wellington and exploring the mysterious Thomas Tunnel (a tunnel dug in the side of the mountain in 1906, but no records remain why; was it for gold, magnesium, quarrying..?). Definitely, the Cataluña acted as a good protection from the weta's, a native NZ insect that is among the largest and heaviest insects in the world (and covering the old tunnel's ceiling, right above my beret!).

Ah, and since writing here anyway, the new SPECIAL just went live: bérets casquette Auloronesa at a well discounted price!

Daan

In your post 1292 I see little boxes with