Beret

2025-10-22T15:19:42Z

2600:6C5C:6000:3D87:DD47:B79A:1375:5390:

{{short description|Flat-topped, visorless cap}}
{{distinguish|Barrette}}
{{other uses}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2013}}
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A '''beret''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|ˈ|b|ɛr|eɪ}} {{respell|BERR|ay}},<ref>{{cite book |title=Oxford English Dictionary |edition= 2nd |year=1989}}</ref> {{IPAc-en|US|b|ə|ˈ|r|eɪ}} {{respell|bə|RAY}};<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/beret |title=Dictionary.com Unabridged |access-date=2007-11-09 }}</ref> {{langx|fr|béret}} {{IPA|fr|beʁɛ|}}; {{langx|eu|txapel}} {{IPA|eu|t͡ʃa.pel|}}; {{langx|es|boina}} {{ipa|es|ˈbojna|}}) is a soft, round, flat-crowned [[cap]] made of hand-knitted [[wool]], crocheted cotton, wool [[felt]],<ref name="Chico 2005">{{cite book|last=Chico|first=Beverly|title=Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion|year=2005|volume=1|publisher=[[Thomson Gale]]|isbn=0-684-31394-4|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00vale/page/n172 149]–150|editor=Steele, Valerie|chapter=Beret|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofcl00vale}}</ref> or [[acrylic fibre]].

Mass production of berets began in the 19th century specifically in the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]], where they were already common headwear among the [[Basque people|indigenous population]], before spreading to [[Southern France]] and the [[Cantabrian Coast|north of Spain]]; as such, the beret remains associated with these countries. Berets are worn as part of the uniform of many military and police units worldwide, as well as by other organizations.<ref>Kilgour, Ruth Edwards. ''A Pageant of Hats Ancient and Modern''. R. M. McBride Company, 1958.</ref>

== History ==
[[Archaeology]] and [[art history]] indicate that headwear similar to the modern beret has been worn since the [[Bronze Age]] across [[Northern Europe]] and as far south as ancient [[Crete]] and [[Italy]], where it was worn by the [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]]s, [[Etruscans]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]]. Such headgear has been popular among the nobility and artists across Europe throughout modern history.<ref name="Chico 2005" />

The 17th century Dutch artist [[Rembrandt]] was well known for wearing a baret and may have inspired the baret's association with artists.

The Basque-style beret was the traditional headwear of [[Aragon]]ese and [[Navarre|Navarrian]] shepherds from the [[Ansó]] and [[Roncal Valley|Roncal]] valleys of the [[Pyrenees]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://calatorao.com/valdejalon/boinaindex.htm|title=Amigos de la Boina de Calatorao (Zaragoza|last=calatorao.com|website=calatorao.com|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603185610/http://calatorao.com/valdejalon/boinaindex.htm|archive-date=3 June 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> a mountain range that divides [[southern France]] from northern Spain. The commercial production of Basque-style berets began in the 17th century around [[Oloron-Sainte-Marie]] in the [[Béarn]] province of southern France. Originally a local craft, beret-making became industrialised in the 19th century. The first factory, Beatex-Laulhere, claims production records dating back to 1810. By the 1920s, berets were associated with the [[working class]]es in a part of France and Spain and by 1928 more than 20 French factories and some Spanish and Italian factories produced millions of berets.<ref name="Chico 2005" />

In Western fashion, men and women have worn the beret since the 1920s as sportswear and later as a fashion statement.

[[Military beret]]s were first adopted by the French [[Chasseurs Alpins]] in 1889.<ref>{{cite book|first=John|last=Mollo|page=200|title=Military Fashion|year=1972|publisher=Barrie and Jenkins |isbn=0-214-65349-8}}</ref> After seeing these during the [[First World War]], British General [[Hugh Elles]] proposed the beret for use by the newly formed [[Royal Tank Regiment]], which needed headgear that would stay on while climbing in and out of the small hatches of tanks. They were approved for use by [[King George V]] in 1924.<ref>Forty, George. ''A Pictorial History of the Royal Tank Regiment'', Halsgrove Publishing 1988, {{ISBN|978-1-84114-124-4}}</ref> Another possible origin of the RTR beret is that it was suggested to [[Alexander Gatehouse|Alec Gatehouse]] by [[Eric Dorman-Smith]]. While the two officers were serving at [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst|Sandhurst]] in 1924, Gatehouse, who had transferred to the Royal Tank Corps, had been given the task of designing a practical headgear for the new corps. Dorman-Smith had toured Spain, including the Basque region, with his friend [[Ernest Hemingway]] during the past few years, and had acquired a black Basque beret during his travels.

{{quote|The specifications were that it had to protect men's hair from the oil in a tank but not take up space in the cramped interior, and he led Gatehouse straight to his room. Hanging on the wall was his Basque beret from Pamplona. He tossed it across, and Gatehouse gingerly tried it on. The beret design was adopted...<ref>Greacen, Lavinia. ''Chink: A Biography'', MacMillan London Ltd., London, 1989, pp. 93, 95.</ref>}}

The black RTR beret was made famous by [[Field Marshal Montgomery]] in the [[Second World War]].<ref name="Chico 2005" />

==Wear==
[[File:Italian Soldier Olypmic Games Turin 2006.jpg|thumb|upright|right|A soldier of the Italian [[Folgore Brigade]] wearing a beret.]]
The beret fits snugly around the head, and can be "shaped" in a variety of ways – in the [[Americas]] it is commonly worn pushed to one side. In [[Central America|Central]] and [[South America]], local custom usually prescribes the manner of wearing the beret; there is no universal rule and older gentlemen usually wear it squared on the head, jutting forward. It can be worn by both men and women.

Military uniform berets feature a headband or sweatband attached to the wool, made either from leather, silk or cotton ribbon, sometimes with a [[drawstring]] allowing the wearer to tighten the cap. The drawstrings are, according to custom, either tied and cut off or tucked in or else left to dangle. The beret is often adorned with a [[cap badge]], either in cloth or metal. Some berets have a piece of [[buckram]] or other stiffener in the position where the badge is intended to be worn.

Berets are not usually lined, but many are partially lined with silk or satin. In military berets, the headband is worn on the outside; military berets often have external sweatbands of leather, [[pleather]] or ribbon. The traditional beret (also worn by selected military units, such as the [[Belgium|Belgian]] [[Regiment of Ardennian Rifles|Chasseurs Ardennais]] or the French [[Chasseurs Alpins]]), usually has the "sweatband" folded inwardly. In such a case, these berets have only an additional inch or so of the same woollen material designed to be folded inwardly.

Newer beret styles made of [[Polar fleece]] are also popular.

==National traditions and variants==

===Basque Country ===
[[File:Olentzero Hendaia 2006.JPG|thumb|upright|[[Olentzero]], a Basque Christmas figure, wears a beret]]
Berets came to be popularised across Europe and other parts of the world as typical [[Basque people|Basque]] headgear, as reflected in their name in several languages (e.g. ''béret basque'' in French; ''Baskenmütze'' in German; ''Basco'' in Italian; ''Tascu/Birritta'' in Sicilian; or ''baskeri'' in Finnish), while the Basques themselves use the words ''txapela'' or ''boneta''. They are very popular and common in the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque Country]]. The colours adopted for folk costumes varied by region and purpose: black and blue are worn more frequently than red and white, which are usually used at local festivities. The people of [[Aragon]] and the [[Basque Country (greater region)|Basque]] country adopted red berets while the black beret became the common headgear of workers in both Spain and France.<ref name="Chico 2005"/>

A big commemorative black beret is the usual trophy in sport or ''[[Bertsolaritza|bertso]]'' competitions, including Basque rural sports, the Basque portions of the [[Tour de France]], and the [[Tour of the Basque Country|Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco]]. It may bear sewn ornamental references to the achievement or contest.

=== France ===
[[File:Beret MET 53.4.1 CP1.jpg|alt=Purple velvet beret with red pompom|thumb|left|Beret, 1884]]

The [[black beret]] was once considered the national cap of France in [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] countries and is part of the stereotypical image of the [[Onion Johnny]]. It is no longer as widely worn as it once was, but it remains a strong sign of local identity in the southwest of France. When French people want to picture themselves as "the typical average Frenchman" in France or in a foreign country, they often use this stereotype from Anglo-Saxon countries.{{NoteTag|In the movie ''[[Crazy for Love]]'', shot after WWII in [[Normandy]], the hero wears a cap at the beginning of the movie, but then he changes for a beret, to look "more French". Later a lady is looking for him in the village and asks everybody "Have you seen somebody wearing a beret passing by...?"}} Today, there are three manufacturers in France. Laulhère (who acquired the formerly oldest manufacturer, Blancq-Olibet, in February 2014<ref>{{cite news |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/frances-last-beretmaker-laulhere-fights-for-heads-and-hearts-in-response-to-cheap-foreign-imports-9147848.html |title = US |website = independent.co.uk |access-date = 27 March 2018 }}</ref>) has been making bérets since 1840. The beret still remains a strong symbol of the unique identity of southwestern France and is worn while celebrating traditional events.

===Spain===
[[File:Artesano en Cantabria.jpg|thumb|250px|upright|right|A [[Cantabria]]n craftsman wearing a ''boina'']]
In Spain, the beret is usually known as the ''boina'', sometimes also as ''bilbaína''<ref>[https://es.thefreedictionary.com/bilba%C3%ADna thefreedictionary.com]</ref> or ''bilba''.<ref>[http://www.wikilengua.org/index.php/Lista_de_arca%C3%ADsmos wikilengua.org]</ref> They were once common men's headwear across the [[Green Spain|north]] and [[Central Meseta|central areas of the country]]. The first areas to wear it were the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque Country]], [[Navarre]], [[Aragon]] and [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], but its use spread over rest of Spain during the 19th century.<ref name="asc-castilla1">[https://www.asc-castilla.org/castilla/folclore-y-etnografia/boinacastellana/ asc-castilla.org]</ref>

In the 20th century, the beret became part of a common [[stereotype]] of rural people, often with negative connotations of boorishness and uncouthness, found in expressions such as "''paleto de boina a rosca''" ("a hick wearing a screwed-on beret"), which has greatly reduced the popularity of the beret in Spain.<ref>[http://elnaviocastellano.blogspot.com/2012/03/boina-y-honor.html elnaviocastellano.blogspot.com]</ref><ref>[https://www.diariojaen.es/historico/la-boina-a-rosca-DYDJ55243 diariojaen.es]</ref><ref>[http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/obra-visor/los-personajes-rurales-en-el-cine-espanol-historia-y-sociologia-de-un-arquetipo-rural-la-figura-del-paleto--0/html/ff8bb504-82b1-11df-acc7-002185ce6064_4.html cervantesvirtual.com]</ref><ref name="asc-castilla1"/>

[[File:Kilwinning Archer's bonnet.JPG|thumb|right|The traditional bonnet of the [[Kilwinning Archers]] of [[Scotland]]]]

===Scotland===
There are several traditional Scottish variants of the beret, notably the ''Scottish bonnet'' or ''[[Blue bonnet (hat)|Bluebonnet]]''<ref name=Dictionary.com>{{cite web|title=Bluebonnet|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bluebonnet|work=Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|access-date=9 July 2012}}</ref> (originally ''bonaid'' in Gaelic), whose ribbon cockade and feathers identify the wearer's clan and rank. Other Scottish types include the [[Tam o' Shanter (cap)|''tam-o'-shanter'']] (named after a [[Robert Burns]]' character in one of his poems) and the striped ''[[Balmoral bonnet|Kilmarnock cap]]'', both of which feature a large [[pompom]] in the centre.<ref name="Chico 2005"/>

==Uses==

=== As uniform headwear ===
{{main|Military beret|Uniform beret}}

The beret's practicality has long made it an item of military, police and other uniform clothing.

Among a few well-known historic examples are the Scottish soldiers, who wore the blue bonnet in the 17th and 18th centuries, the Volontaires Cantabres, a French force raised in the Basque country in the 1740s to the 1760s, who also wore a blue beret, and the Carlist rebels, with their red berets, in 1830s Spain.

The French [[Chasseurs alpins]], a corps of mountain troops created in 1888, were the first permanently established military force to wear the military beret as a standard headgear. As retained until the present day the chasseur beret is a large and somewhat floppy headdress.<ref>{{cite book|first=W.Y.|last=Carman|page=26|title=A Dictionary of Military Uniform|year=1977|publisher=Scribner |isbn=0-684-15130-8}}</ref> The [[Commandos de Chasse]] worn an unusual bi-colored beret.<ref>https://beretandboina.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-distinctive-beret-of-commandos-de.html</ref>

In the 20th century, royal approval was given for the [[Royal Tank Corps]] to adopt the black beret in 1924,<ref name=bull287/> with the [[11th Hussars]] adopting a brown beret in 1928.<ref name=bull287>{{cite book |last=Bull |first=Stephen |year=2016 |title=Churchill's Army: 1939–1945 The men, machines and organisation |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-84486-399-0|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dQyGDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT287 287] Retrieved 16 January 2020}}</ref> In [[World War II]], the [[Royal Dragoons]] adopted the grey beret at the end of 1939, with other mechanised units of the [[British Army]], such as the [[Royal Armoured Corps]] and the [[Guards Armoured Division]], adopting the black beret in 1941.<ref name=bull287/> British officer [[Bernard Montgomery]] ("Monty") took to wearing a black beret given to him by the driver of his command vehicle in 1942, and it became his trademark.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/27/jim-fraser-obituary|title=Jim Fraser obituary|work=The Guardian|date=27 May 2013}}</ref>

The [[maroon beret]] (not to be confused with the [[red beret]]), was officially introduced in July 1942 at the direction of Major-General [[Frederick Browning]], commander of the British [[1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom)|1st Airborne Division]], and soon became an international symbol of airborne forces.<ref name=bull287/> In the 1950s the U.S. Army's newly conceived [[Special Forces]] units began to wear a green beret as headgear, following the custom of the [[British Royal Marines]], which was officially adopted in 1961 with such units becoming known as the "[[Green Berets]]", and additional specialized forces in the Army, U.S. Air Force and other services also adopted berets as distinctive headgear.{{CN|date=January 2023}}

===In fashion and culture===
[[File:Richardwagner1.jpg|thumb|upright|right|Photograph of Richard Wagner in his beret]]
The beret is part of the long-standing stereotype of the [[intellectual]], [[film director]], [[artist]], "[[Hipster (contemporary subculture)|hipster]]", poet, [[bohemian style|bohemian]] and [[beatnik]]. The painter [[Rembrandt]] and the composer [[Richard Wagner]], among others, wore berets.<ref>Bruyn, J., van de Wetering, Ernst & Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn ''A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings IV: Self-Portraits'' Springer, 18 Oct 2005, p. 290.</ref> In the United States and Britain, the middle of the 20th century saw an explosion of berets in women's fashion. In the latter part of the 20th century, the beret was adopted by the Chinese both as a fashion statement and for its political undertones. Berets were also worn by [[bebop]] and [[jazz]] musicians like [[Dizzy Gillespie]], [[Gene Krupa]], [[Wardell Gray]] and [[Thelonious Monk]].

===As a revolutionary symbol===
[[File:Che Guevara - Guerrillero Heroico by Alberto Korda.jpg|thumb|upright|left|The ''[[Guerrillero Heroico]]'' portrait of Che Guevara]]
''[[Guerrillero Heroico]]'', an iconic photograph of the [[Argentina|Argentine]] revolutionary [[Che Guevara]], shows him wearing a black beret with a brass star.

In the 1960s several activist groups adopted the black beret. These include the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (PIRA), the [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]] (who wore black berets over hoods in public appearances), the [[Black Panther Party]] of the United States, formed in 1966,<ref>Ogbar, Jeffrey Ogbanna Green. ''Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity'', p. 119. 2004 JHU Press</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/berets-black-panthers-beyonce-11643753652 | title=How Berets Became a Part of Black History, from the Black Panthers to Beyoncé | newspaper=Wall Street Journal | date=2 February 2022 | last1=MacDonell | first1=Nancy }}</ref> and the "Black Beret Cadre" (a similar [[Black Power]] organisation in [[Bermuda]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bermuda.org.uk/black_berets.htm|title=Black Berets|website=www.bermuda.org.uk|access-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111162859/http://bermuda.org.uk/black_berets.htm|archive-date=11 January 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, the [[Brown Berets]] were a [[Chicano]] organisation formed in 1967.

The Young Lords Party, a Latino revolutionary organisation in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, also wore berets, as did the [[Guardian Angels]] unarmed anti-crime citizen patrol units originated by [[Curtis Sliwa]] in [[New York City]] in the 1970s to patrol the streets and subways to discourage crime (red berets and matching shirts).

===Rastafarians===
[[File:Rasta Man Barbados.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Rastafarian]] with beret]]
Adherents of the [[Rastafari movement]] often wear a very large knitted or crocheted black beret with red, gold and green circles atop their [[dreadlocks]]. The style is often erroneously called a ''[[kufi]]'', after the skullcap known as ''kufune''. They consider the beret and dreadlocks to be symbols of the biblical covenant of God with his chosen people, the "black Israelites".<ref name="Chico 2005" /> This style of hat is also known as a [[Rastacap]].

==See also==
* [[List of hat styles]]
* [[Biretta]], a similarly named but completely different cap
* [[Barretina]]
* [[Caubeen]]
* [[Flat cap]]
* [[Military beret]]s by color:
** [[Black beret]],
** [[Blue beret]],
** [[Green beret]],
** [[Maroon beret]],
** [[Red beret]],
** [[Tan beret]]
* [[Mohair berets]]
* [[Pakol]]
* [[Tam (women's hat)]]
* [[Tudor bonnet]]
* [[Zucchetto]]

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Berets}}

{{Hats}}
{{Headgear}}

[[Category:Berets| ]]
[[Category:Hats]]
[[Category:Culture of the Basque Country]]
[[Category:Culture of Navarre]]
[[Category:Culture of France]]
[[Category:French fashion]]
[[Category:Culture of Spain]]
[[Category:Spanish fashion]]
[[Category:Men's clothing]]
[[Category:History of Western fashion]]

[[no:Alpelue]]
[[fi:Baskeri]]

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Beret