Berets, Anyone?

[Daan]

Fabulous photo.[/QUOTE

Thanks, Alan.

I found some more fabulous photo's.
Gaucho's, again. Some very impressive berets (and faces underneath)!

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Daan your pictures are not showing up.[huh]

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Two ways of wearing a beret, 1947 by Louis Stettner

 

[Cicero]

Daan your pictures are not showing up.[huh]

Works here.
Pics are very beautiful! :eusa_clap
Looks like they where born with the beret.

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Works here.
Pics are very beautiful! :eusa_clap
Looks like they where born with the beret.

Last edited by Daan; 01-26-2012 at 03:22 PM. Reason: Photo's didn't upload

Daan fixed it on the 26th

 

[Daan]

Sometimes the inside is more interesting than the outside. This is especially so for older berets, made in the 1940's-60's. Some of the labels sewn into berets are true works of art.

It was a time when beret-use was very common and many small beret manufacturers flourished (there were over 40 factories in France alone; now there are two...).
These days, the label tells you who made it and what quality the beret is ("impermeable", "Super Lujo", the manufacturer's name or model of the beret), but some five decades ago, many hat shops had their own labels custom made. The same for sports clubs, and other societies and groups.

Altogether, there are hundreds and hundreds of different labels around, small pieces of embroidered art (I have around 230 in my collection and it's far from complete).

And it's not only the actual labels; the satin (and sometimes silk) lining would be specific to a model or supplier as well:

 

[Daan]

Following the previous post, it's hard to find really nice labels these days. The best are still the French berets, made by Blancq-Olibet, with the Bakarra, PEBEO and Vrai Basque labels:

The Spanish berets from Boinas Elosegui may be excellent in quality, their labels are far from interesting, apart from the Euskal Herria label, fitted in the Txapelduns and Super Lujo-berets:

Similar for the berets made by Bonigor in Argentina; beautiful berets, but label-wise...

One of the nicest labels in present-day berets is that of the Basco Francia, more in style with the traditional French berets:

and of course there are the berets under the South Pacific Berets label:

 

[DNO]

Great labels! Thanks for posting the pics, Daan.

 

[Daan]

In response to my last two posts about beret-labels, a number of people responded with some great samples of labels. I'll post some more pic's soon. Also, after my negative comment regarding Argentinean labels (boina Espinosa and Tolosa Tupida), I should really show a picture of the boina Super Espinosa (thanks, Lex).

 

[Daan]

Two interesting Boinas Elósegui ads; the first dates 1914, the second one year later.

 

[esteban68]

Nica adverts Daan; I got this one last Sunday, it's a very good quality beret, here's the first pics with two other 8 panels bought at the same time, the ring on top of the beret which I took to be fading turned out to be ingrained dust from storage, this has now brushed off, the felt is very thick with no moth nips etc, the sweatband is a very good quality soft and pliable leather;

There's a name embossed into the leather that I can't make out

the beret is from the South Western corner of France almost on the border with Spain, the area has a large Basque influence and the pelota playing figure on the label shows this...not sure of date, when did the R mark come in?

Forgot to add it's a decent size being almost spot on 12", I'll have to get a picture of me wearing it, great labels Daan BTW, I think labels are great and are almost worth collecting on their own from berets, jackets coats etc(worn out unusable exaples obviously...not advocating removing them from decent items!), but then again I am a bit sad!

 

[Daan]

Nice beret, Esteban (and nice label too!).
I tried to find out when the ® -symbol came into use, but have been unsuccessful so far. Interestingly, I found very few beret labels with the ® or ™ mark. My guess is that your beret is from the 1970's, but really, I don't know. Neither whether it was made by BEATEX or Blancq-Olibet.
The use of pelote players wasn't uncommon for beret labels (like other typical Basque sports and professions). I found a few more:

 

[Daan]

From all the berets I sell through South Pacific Berets some 30% are made of cotton, mainly the Argentinean boinas Espinosa and boinas Tolosa Tupida. There are a few good reasons to go cotton; climate/temperature being one of the principal ones. A cotton beret is by definition not felted; it is knitted cotton, identical to a wool beret before the felting process (all "real" berets are knitted, never woven or sewn!). This makes it very breathable and keeps the head cooler in summer, while at the same time the cotton easily absorbs extra transpiration in hot and humid conditions.

Still, there are many beret purists who shun anything but merino wool for a beret. Fair enough, but being conservative for traditions sake only changes you short. Traditions evolve, after all (look at the differences between berets made in France, Spain, Italy, The Czech Republic and Argentina - all traditional beret manufacturing countries). In South America, the cotton beret (or boina algodon) is deeply embedded in the gaucho culture, worn for very practical reasons by gaucho's in Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil). The quality cotton berets came first into being during the early 1990's, when Bonigor started experimenting making cotton berets in an identical way to merino wool berets.

There are certainly wool berets that are very much wearable in warm weather (the Italian basco Roma's and Francia's, for example), but at the same time these offer little or no protection from the sun. Wearing a Txapeldun at the heat of the day in Australia's Outback or Southern California may be a bit challenging...
That's where the Plato Grandes come in; with a diameter of 350mm's these are shapeable in any way to protect face, forehead or neck from the sun.

One good reason to stay away from cotton is the "un-shapeability" and floppiness of many. I have tried many different brands over the years, but so far only found the above mentioned Argentinean berets, the Uruguayan Castilla and the Italian Basco di Cotone Bianco of an acceptable standard. Many cotton berets miss the weight and density needed to give the beret it's proper shape (and not turn it into a Rastafarian hat).

Cotton berets by Canadian company Parkhurst and American Betmar may be well made technically, but can't stand the "txortena test": pick the beret up by it's txortena and see if it keeps it's shape (staying more or less horizontal and disc shaped), similar for all the Indian and Chinese made berets you can find on the web.
My latest addition is the above mentioned Basco Bianco, a beautifully made beret in a small diameter, raw-white cotton in excellent quality. Too small for complete head-protection, but a great hat for summer wear.

 

[Henri Maginot]

I'm not new to reading the Fedora Lounge, but I've only recently registered and have finally gotten the opportunity to post.

Among other things, I love hats. I have a fair sized collection that includes several wool berets from the Czech Republic. A dark blue beret is my nearly-everyday hat. Looks like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76580347@N07/6836963122/in/photostream/

And like this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76580347@N07/6836963122/in/photostream/

 

[zetwal]

A dark blue beret is my nearly-everyday hat. Looks like this:

Welcome to the Lounge! Your pics are missing ... :yo:

 

[The Wiser Hatter]

Glad you decided to post nice beret.

 

[Daan]

Tango

Argentinean like the boina: the tango. And a good combination at that too!
The Tango, is a conversation between two people, expressing musical moods through improvised movements. Born in the Buenos Aires suburbs, brothels and tenement houses, tango (meaning “a place for slaves to meet”) is intrincately embedded in its music and lyrics melancholic essence as well as in the sensuality and passion felt when dancing it... over the decades tango spread throughout South American society and then throughout the world. Ah, so much to say about the Tango, but not here...

Let's have a look at the the intricate relationship between berets, or boinas, and the Tango.

Alex Daiela and Bando

Where the male dancer wears a large rimmed hat,

if any hat, the musicians on the bandoneón and guitar wear a boina; wool or cotton, Espinosa or Plato Grande, but a beret!

And, needless to say really, South Pacific Berets can supply any tango dancer with a suitable beret!

 

[job]

Where can I find a beret that looks like a military (USA) one that is for hot weather. Possibly linen or cotton.

 

[Daan]

Where can I find a beret that looks like a military (USA) one that is for hot weather. Possibly linen or cotton.

I have not seen any cotton berets in the style of a (small diameter) military beret, but KANGOL has a model called the Tropic Monty, made of polyester/chlorofiber, which is meant to be for warmer climates:

KANGOL also makes a beret out of bamboo, but this is not in military style:

At South Pacific Berets I stock the wool Monty, which comes closest to a US Army black beret:

Alternatively, there is the Czech made Service Star (by TONAK), probably the best quality military beret around.

 

[job]

Thanks Daan. Maybe if I get a wool one I could put some of Al's vent holes in it.