How to wear the beret

Wearing a beret is disarmingly simple, just like it is comfortable. However, many people fail to do it the right way because they make mistakes in the simple gestures that are necessary to wear it.

Below I have prepared a short video with explanations (if you want, scroll down the page), but now I want to tell you a little about this practical hat and its fascinating history, a symbol of seduction, romance, but also of a rock and rebellious style.

If you don't have a beret yet, you can buy one online at our online hat shop .

In the collective imagination it has become the symbol of the chic and refined taste of Paris.

The Basque, the history

A beret-like headdress has been worn since the Bronze Age throughout Northern Europe and as far away as ancient Crete and Italy, where it was used by the Minoans, Etruscans and Romans.

Although its origin, as we said above, dates back to northern Spain, the first production of berets began in the 17th century in the area of ​​Oloron-Sainte-Marie in southern France. The first factory, Beatex-Laulhere, claims production records dating back to 1810.

A transversal symbol, the beret

It's incredible how a simple hat like the beret has become over the years a true icon of style and fashion for different classes, even distant from each other.

Few symbols can boast of having been a conservative, revolutionary, rock 'n' roll, cultural and rebellious icon at the same time.

In Western fashion there was an explosion of the beret as a headdress, with men and women wearing the beret from the 1920s onwards as sportswear and later as a fashion statement.

Practically the perfect headgear, which protected the head effectively and which could be quickly removed, rolled up and put in a pocket.

When the French want to imagine themselves as "the typical average Frenchman", they imagine themselves with a beret on their head, a small moustache pointing up, a baguette under their arm, and perhaps the inevitable horizontally striped shirt and a small scarf tied around their neck.

In addition to the French and the Spanish, another people very attached to the beret are the Scots. The Scottish beret (with a pompom in the center) is considered a symbol of patriotism, along with the inevitable kilt.

The Basque in Fashion and Culture

Another symbol linked to the beret is that of culture. In fact, it has always been linked to a large number of intellectuals, artists and famous people.

It is enough to mention the painter Rembrandt and the composer Richard Wagner, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Faye Dunaway, Lady Diana, Rihanna, Marlene Dietrich, Benny Hill, Audrey Hepburn, Frank Spencer, Jean-Paul Sartre, Johnny Rotten, the Pink Panther, Edith Piaf, the Black Panthers, Beyoncé, Brigitte Bardot, Catherine Deneuve, Madonna, Lucio Dalla, Bob Marley, Johnny Rotten (Sex Pistols) and many others.

The Chinese, too, have adopted the beret over the years, both as a fashion statement and for its political undertones.

A symbol of revolution

Who hasn’t seen at least once the “Guerrillero Heroico”, an iconic photograph taken by Alberto Korda, which portrays Che Guevara, the famous Argentine revolutionary wearing a black beret with a brass star on his head.

Adherents of the Rastafari (Rasta) movement also often wear a very large black knitted or crocheted cap with red, gold and green circles on top of their dreadlocks.

How to match a beret

The beret has that hint of vintage that makes it perfect for a retro, but also artistic and cultural look.

You can definitely match it with both casual and elegant clothing, so it's very versatile.

How to wear a beret

How to wear a beret? Take the beret with two hands and place it over your head, lower it behind you and guide it with your hands to one side.

Usually the beret is worn pushed to one side, the important thing is not to pull it too much towards the front, but to find the right position that enhances your face.

Undoubtedly, the beret is a headdress that can be worn by men and women at any time, both in summer and winter.

Tutorial : Watch the video I made for you on our YouTube page.

Don't miss the range of beautiful berets that we have available on our online hat shop and obviously also in the physical one, in the historic shop in Rovereto , in the heart of Trentino.

Sonia