Iconic Hats - The Beret
[One Article in a series on Iconic Hat Styles]< / p>
Although worn as military headgear in ancient Greece, the modern origin of the beret is traced to the Basques, people live on both the French and Spanish sides of the Pyrenees Mountains. Centuries ago, the Basques were great fishermen and sailors, a reality that might get across the appearance of a very allied hat in Scotland. Both the Scotch tam and the beret are woven in one piece without a seam or a binding. < / p>
The archetypal Basque Beret was either navy blue or red, but today the beret is available in a wide array of colors. An influence of WW1 was the general adoption for sports wear by both men and women, of that very smart dark blue cap worn by the French Alpine troops, the age - old Basque beret. Few items of clothing have been adopted by so many varied groups of people living in different periods of history as the beret. In WW11, the French Resistance movement, the Maquis, wore the Basque beret. Because it was the most common French headwear, the Maquis was able to wear it without bringing undo suspicion to this covert operation. < / p>
The covert military connotation was propelled further when the beret was taken up by special forces, often with the suggestion of ' undress ' uniform, such as USA Green Berets, Black Berets ( USA Rangers ), UN Blue Berets, to name a few. It was a short leap for these sub - surface ciphers to have been embraced by artists and revolutionaries. Che Guevara, a hero of the Cuban revolution, made the beret a worldwide symbol of the revolutionary guerilla fighter. < / p>
The Guardian Angels, a vigilante group who patrols the subways and streets of some of the world ' s major cities, wear red berets. And who can forget that American artist and revolutionary, Monica Lewinsky hugging President Clinton in her beret? < / p>
Fred Belinsky is the founder and president of The Village Hat Shop. The 4 - store California chain is 27 years old. http: / / www. VillageHatShop. com< / a>, launched in early 1997, was the first online hat seller. Belinsky also runs http: / / www. Berets. com< / a>. Private label brands include Jaxon Hats, JaxonHats. com, and sur la tete. More of Belinsky ' s articles can be seen at his HAT BLOG. VillageHatShop. com also publishes THE COWBOY HAT, an ezine featuring short fiction, essays, and poetry about the American West and the Mexican - American Border. < / p>
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