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Berets, Anyone?

Babbo Philipe

A-List Customer
Messages
339
Location
San Pedro
Sorry, but what a dumb comment. If you knew only a little about Sara, you'd realise how inappropriate and offensive the comment is (and not just to your wife). Let's stick to berets...

Bouwerij_Jongen - the 12 steps on Instagram give a pretty good picture of how berets are made. This is very much the artisan (and slow) way, but apart from details (such as the application of the liguette), the process doesn't differ much from manufacturing on a industrial scale.
The non-spoken video below by Laulhere shows the whole process of the making of a Laulhere beret
while the following video by Boinas Elosegui is more explanatory (when able to understand Spanish) and gives a good idea of how berets, or boinas, are made in Tolosa.
your right, your right, but, i do know Sara, i deleted it , got a little goofy moment, but she is the best as it stands on berets
 
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Fedster

Familiar Face
Messages
87
Location
Finland
Does anyone know how to embiggen the head hole (head port?) of cotton berets? I have a couple of cotton boinas from Argentina, and my head is quite a lot bigger then the hole provided for it. In theory I could keep wearing them until they stretch, but they grip my head hard enough to give me a headache, so I'm no keen on that approach. The 'use scissors' approach seems pretty bad too. Any other suggestion?
 

Babbo Philipe

A-List Customer
Messages
339
Location
San Pedro
Does anyone know how to embiggen the head hole (head port?) of cotton berets? I have a couple of cotton boinas from Argentina, and my head is quite a lot bigger then the hole provided for it. In theory I could keep wearing them until they stretch, but they grip my head hard enough to give me a headache, so I'm no keen on that approach. The 'use scissors' approach seems pretty bad too. Any other suggestion?
If it’s straight wool use a hat stretcher. If it has a threaded seam. You could rip a thread. Tough one
 

Bouwerij_Jongen

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Cascadia
I sometimes feel like a heretic.
To stretch a cotton beret,
use a Hat Jack or similar device.
After washing the beret,
which I do when they start to stink,
use the Hat Jack to gently stretch the beret.
You need to be careful about overstretching
because the Hat Jack can apply a lot of force.
So, stretch a bit, take off the Hat Jack, and put on your head.
See, how it feels.
If still too tight, then stretch a little more until it is comfortable.
Leave beret on the Hat Jack to dry.
 

Bouwerij_Jongen

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Cascadia
Someone must have slipped the New Zealand postal service a gigantic dose of ExLax.
as mail now seems to be moving.
A recently received cotton beret in natural/white by Arandu of Argentina.
Lightweight and similar to a Tolosa Tupida.
Should be a good choice for our predicted HOT summer.
rps20200611_163750_428.jpg
 

Bouwerij_Jongen

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Cascadia
What now seems like fantastical thinking,
I was booked on a nine day tour of Lyon, France, for April, 2020.
Nine days of the best French cooking and wine.
We had four sessions at a cooking schoolj included.
Alas, Covid blew up that plan.
I had planned to wear my Manufacture de Beret
Boneteria Aotearoa 11p in Bordeaux along with
my vintage Lyon coat of arms.
rps20200612_154940_838.jpg
rps20200612_155006_642.jpg
 

Bouwerij_Jongen

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Cascadia
The one beret that I wear just aboiut everyday in Fall, Winter, and Spring
for my daily walk is my 11p black Boneteria Aotearoa by Manufacture de Beret.
Great for cool and cold weather, good for a rain shower.
After my walk it then rests for the next day.
Now, ss temperatures warm I find the cotton The Chyldish Fear Naught
always comfortable in cool and warm situations.
The MdB 11p:
rps20200615_152736_353.jpg
 

Daan

Vendor
Messages
940
Location
Wellington, Aotearoa
I wouldn't say that berets are cheap, but once you understand how much work goes into the making of a single -quality- beret, it is hard not to realize how little money is earned in the beret industry.
Times have been different though. Delving into some newspaper archives, I found some adds that sound very appealing these days! Like this ad from the Texan
Fort Worth Star-Telegram, dated 27 September 1942, offering berets at $0.99!
upload_2020-6-18_11-32-3.png

Or Canadian made Basque berets for men, from 75c to $1.25. An ad in the Edmonton Journal of 18 July 1947.

upload_2020-6-18_11-35-21.png

By 1963 prices had gone up somewhat, as this ad from The San Francisco Examiner testified on 10 March. Imported from France at $4.95:
upload_2020-6-18_11-37-14.png

Still, nothing beats the price advertised in The Ottawa Citizen of 8 September 1948. No Chinese manufacturer could make berets at that cost…
upload_2020-6-18_11-40-21.png

An absolute minimum price for 2020 at $28.45 are the vintage labeled berets from South Pacific Berets for a few more days on this week's special.
upload_2020-6-18_11-47-50.png
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Fedster

Familiar Face
Messages
87
Location
Finland
On his blog Daan has this picture https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_4sDK3cod...CKE6ZG8/s1600/La+Fortuna+Gaucho+Argentina.jpg

That looks like a cotton beret to me. I am wondering why is this beret 'falling' like a wool beret: it seems to have the weight and body to do so, whereas my experience with normal cotton berets is that they are both 'stiff' and 'floppy', because they are so much thinner than wool berets (admittedly, my Elosegui are quite stiff, whereas the MB ones 'fall' perfectly, but they ahve much more body than cotton berets).
 

Bouwerij_Jongen

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Cascadia
The beret worn by the gaucho with the flowing white hair and mustache is
an instance of the iconic ideal of the cotton beret.
It is a rugged horseman wearing a heavy duty yet nicely faded beret.
The appearance of the gaucho's beret is a factor of fabric, wear, and camera settings.
The cotton Castilla and the cotton Chyldish Fear Naught have the weight and weave to
show a nicely faded look after a couple washings; plus, the drape suits me.
 

Daan

Vendor
Messages
940
Location
Wellington, Aotearoa
The first new stock of berets to arrive in the South Pacific since the lockdown are the new models by Boinas Elósegui – a shipment that has been much and longingly anticipated.
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Brand new are the custom-made colours ‘Tūī’ in 291mm (the very dark green of the native New Zealand tūī bird); ‘Ibex’ in 291mm (a very soft shade of brown, taken from the Pyrenean ibex, resembling the colour of raw untreated wool) and ‘Ursus’ in 302mm (a soft brown with a hint of purple, taken from the Iberian brown bear).

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A new Plato Grande is the ‘Morado’ in 325mm, a deep and warm plum-purple colour.
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Also new are the Super Lujo’s in navy 265mm, while we now have a small number of Plato Grandes in tūī-green back in stock.
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All Super Lujo’s in black and navy models are now listed on this page; all custom-made models are listed here.
 

Nico

One of the Regulars
Messages
241
Location
Australia
Its been a couple of tough weeks. Went for a much needed walk and enjoyed a nice coffee. What really surprised me was the compliments I received for my Laulhere Rugby beret. One young lass said I looked awesome. This certainly made my day a better one. :)

IMG_6954.jpg
 

Bouwerij_Jongen

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Cascadia
This time of year the weather in Oregon shifts back and forth between sunny and warm to cool, cloudy and wet.
A good reason to have several berets to be sure of having the right beret for the weather.
A week ago on a hot sunny day I needed to water my plants,
so a lot of standing around in the sun.
The Boinas Tolosa Guarda Pampa 30 cm is
great for shading your head from UV rays.

rps20200626_161018_510.jpg
 

Bouwerij_Jongen

One of the Regulars
Messages
154
Location
Cascadia
Even though it is the middle of summer and I am wearing cotton berets,
here is a photo from last May in Aix-en-Provence, France, the
home of the famous painter, Paul Cezanne.
Standing where Cezanne painted several of his last paintings of
Montagne Sainte-Victoire.
Wearing the Manufacture de Beret 11p in Indigo.

rps20200721_152752_384.jpg
Is there a better beret?
 
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