{"id":3108,"date":"2021-12-08T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/?p=3108"},"modified":"2022-09-06T20:58:26","modified_gmt":"2022-09-07T00:58:26","slug":"berets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefrench.com\/berets\/","title":{"rendered":"Berets: the Quintessential French Hat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Is there anything more quintessential or perhaps clich\u00e9<\/em> than the beret when it comes to French fashion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Emily<\/a> seemed to think that wearing a bright red beret in Paris was a good idea, the truth is that French girls don\u2019t actually wear berets very often!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surprisingly, the older<\/em> French population is still keeping this French fashion trend going strong. I regularly see French senior citizens wearing wool berets out on the streets and to be honest, it\u2019s the cutest thing ever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, I did receive a black leather beret<\/a> from the coolest French handbag brand, Pol\u00e8ne last winter, so it seems like the French aren’t completely<\/em> ready to let go of this historical fashion trend just yet…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, how do you wear a beret in a chic, modern way? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

First, let’s talk about the history of the French beret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beret History<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Is there anything more clich\u00e9 than a French person holding a baguette, wearing a striped shirt<\/a>, puffing on a cigarette, and sporting a beret?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beret has a long and storied history in greater Europe dating back centuries. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This quintessential French hat<\/a> has been associated with everyone from artists to farmers to rebels. It has no gender association \u2013 many famous women and men have worn this hat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its earliest appearance was in the 1500s when it was worn by the European lower class since it could be made cheaply. Shepherds in the B\u00e9arn and Basque regions of France were the first people known to wear them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The word “beret” is derived from the Latin “birretum” word which described a flat head covering made of wool, often worn by peasants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the late 1600s, Dutch artist Rembrandt painted a somber portrait titled “Man in a Beret<\/a>” depicting a man wearing a black beret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1835, the beret was embraced by French soldiers in the Army who wore navy blue berets, despite it still remaining a symbol of poverty in the rest of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, French artists like Monet and Cezanne adopted the beret. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1920s, the tables turned and the beret became a fashion statement for chic Bohemian artists in Paris. French singer<\/a> Edith Piaf wore a beret, and American writer Ernest Hemingway was known to wear a beret during his jaunts in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1930s, French designer<\/a> Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel was often spotted wearing a beret, one of the first women to do so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During World War II, the French resistance combatants were known to wear berets. It was also sported by the French military who sometimes clipped pins and medals to them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1960s, the Beatnik generation popularized wearing berets again as well as the Black Panthers<\/a>, supposedly inspired by the French Resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruthless dictators like Saddam Hussein and Robert Mugabe were both known to wear berets, further twisting the hat’s reputation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1985, Prince wrote a song called “Raspberry Beret” making this hat a part of American music culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Dior’s Fall 2017 runway show<\/a>, every model strutted down the runway wearing a sleek black leather beret. Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld did its own take on the beret for the Cruise collection of 2016-2017<\/a>, sewn with black sequins and styled with brooches.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, everyone from Bella Hadid<\/a> to Meghan Markle has expressed their take on how to wear a French beret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What’s most interesting about the French beret is that it has been associated with such a wide variety of groups \u2013 from the innocent school girl to the violent rebel or freedom fighter. It’s nearly impossible to put this fashion accessory into just one box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Wear the French Beret<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Berets are most often worn during the colder months of fall and winter. French girls wear them in three ways: <\/p>\n\n\n\n