It is one of France’s emblems, adored by tourists when they visit the capital. Between tradition and fashion, the beret hides a long history in its hat. Here’s a look at a piece that hasn’t lost any of its superb appeal.
This soft felt or knitted and felted wool hat is circular, flat, waterproof and easy to store, and has its origins in Béarn. Situated in the very south-west of France, the region enjoys an idyllic location between the Basque Country and the Pyrenees. The name beret comes from the Béarn language, berret meaning bonnet in old Occitan. In 1835, the term was first used in French to mean ‘a flat, rimless woollen headdress worn by local peasants’. Even though the shape of the beret could date back hundreds of years, finding similarities with pieces from Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Béarn claims to be the father of this hat and values the traditional know-how that goes into it.
The icon of a region
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As well as its practicality and protection against the cold, rain and wind, the beret is distinguished by its wide variety of colours, which have varied over time. Depending on the region and the communities in the Pyrenees, the headgear has taken on shades of ecru, then white, but also brown, blue or even red. From the beginning of the last century, civilian berets became more black. At the same time, red remains the symbolic shade for festivities in the Basque Country, on both the French and Spanish sides.
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Fearuted photo: © Screenshot Emily in Paris
