The Beret - why is it iconic?
As well as being a fashion statement on and off for decades, it is fair to say the hugely distinguishable beret is always associated with France and being ‘French’.
Why is it so? The number of berets I have sighted in France in 7 years you could count on one hand. That discounts the beret my brother brings when he comes to stay. He has the misguided belief it lifts the quality of his petanque playing. Admittedly, most of my time has been spent swanning around Provence, the French Riviera and Burgundy, so perhaps I need to head (pardon that pathetic pun) for the Basque region.
I did buy a beret once, in a specialty hat shop in Cahors, or perhaps it was Sarlat. My memory of the whole transaction is somewhat hazy as I had instantly fallen in love with the female sales assistant. It could have been the broad warm smile, the big round hazel coloured eyes, the semi-Mediterranean bronzed skin, the subtle hint of her décolletée, or her husky heavily accented english that turned me to jelly. Or it may have been all five!! I do recall that it was the longest time ever I have spent in a hat shop. Sigh…………………!!
The beret has in reality been a comparative newcomer in French history terms. It did indeed originate in the Pyrenees and up until the 1850’s was rarely seen in the rest of the country. That all changed with Napoleon the Third. He conscripted large numbers of young men from the Pyrenees and eventually the beret became part of the national dress. In recent years the popularity of the beret has declined, there are now around 850,000 berets produced each year with half of those for the military.
In the Basque country they have a saying - “two cabbage leaves stuffed inside your beret will give you protection from the sun”. Perhaps that is where the expression ‘cabbage head’ comes from - je ne sais pas!
A Bientot, Bruce.