Berets, Anyone?

GrayEyes said:

Dear fellow Beret Wearers,

When is a German beret (Baskenmütze) not a German beret? What it's not actually from Germany.

This week, I took a trip to Luckenwalde to see the famous hat factory designed by Erich Mendelsohn. It's an amazing building that is now almost entirely empty. The structure is in good condition, having been restored in the 1990s, but the surrounding grounds are overgrown with weeks and strewn with rubble.

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So where is the beret (Baskenmütze) connection? While in Luckenwalde, I went to the town's only hat store -- a bit far from the central market square, but easily recognizable by its hat-themed sign.

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The owner was very kind and showed me her selection of berets, which generally involved, soft artificial leather (external) sweatbands, grommets on each side for ventilation, and the cabillou. The lining was solid black and not particularly noteworthy. I asked if they were made in Luckenwalde, and she said that sadly no hats are made there anymore. She did not seem inclined to discuss the matter further, and I feared that they are made in China or India. I hope that some Baskenmützen are still made in Germany.


A panoramic view of one side of the Mendelsohn factory:
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A nice piece of industrial heritage and Expressionist architecture, but indeed, a long time since any hats were produced here.

No Basque berets, or Baskenmütze, are manufactured in Germany anymore in the literal sense. However, the Baskenmütze sold at South Pacific Berets do come from Luckenwalde. The actual beret (the raw hood) is made in France by Laulhère. The German firm Esco then modifies and finalizes the berets; for the Classic Basque model this is no more than fitting the lining and headband, but the models with external headband are quite different. These have an added wool rim fitted around the head-opening, giving these berets a 'lift' and (in combination with the added airvents) making these berets great for summer weather.

Yarbles said:

Daan Is the offer for a complementary rybička still valid ?
I cant seem to make it work in the checkout PP page.
Have been eyeing off a Fandron felt cap for some time ( And the Carpathian Mammoth..) ... But for some reason on my (Android ) devices you cant select Grey on the drop down menu ( and black ares sold out ) Actually thats true of all your drop down menus. Does work on windows though.

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Daan said:

On Burel, Heather and Winter-Greens

Burel is one of the most beautiful natural fabrics I can think of. It is a 100% woven wool felt, made from Bordaleira sheep wool. This breed lives only in the Serra da Estrela region, the highest mountains in Portugal and is capable of growing extremely resistant but still pleasant to the touch fibres. Burel makes for superb clothing, but has many more purposes.
Microsoft has the walls at its European headquarters in Lisbon covered in burel, making for perfect insulation, sound-proofing, acoustics and aesthetics.
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Burel is used for hats too, of course, like the Portuguese boinas Portuguesas I stock. Unfortunately, the fibre is not suitable for the fine art of Basque beret making. The fibres are too course and thick and miss the flexibility of the merino wool fiber that is traditionally used for berets.
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The look of burel wool can be found in berets though; this we call 'heather' or 'melange'. Heather refers to interwoven yarns of mixed colors producing flecks of an alternate color. It is typically used to mix multiple shades of grey or grey with another color to produce a muted shade (e.g., heather green), but any two colors can be mixed, including bright colors.
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Heather yarn is costly as compared to other yarn and not many beret manufacturers are able to use it. Czech manufacturer FEZCO is the master in this respect; think the 'winter-green' models and 'Mammoths'.
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Boinas Elósegui used the technique in the limited edition Paso-Doble, while the Portuguese made Boinas Bascas Coloridas - Universais carry four different colour options.
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ErikFid said:

Interesting. What about the grey melange berets from Argentina? You don't mention these in your post.

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You're dead right! And these beauties certainly deserve their place in the spotlight.
Argentinian manufacturer Bonigor's first series in heather is called the 'grey melange'. Although the actual manufacturing process is not disclosed, one can feel the difference between these berets and the equivalent in a solid colour; the grey melange models are slightly heavier and stiffer (I would say more similar to a Spanish Super Lujo). Still, the material is the same fine and ultrasoft Argentinian grown merino wool.

These berets are available in the unlined 28cm Espinosa model, the 30cm Tolosa Tupida and 32cm Plato Grande model.

Daan said:

Two new and beautiful additions have been added to the stock of Czech tartan lined berets: the burel-like wool colour of the Carpathian Mammoth, a deep natural brown with vague hints of copper and red.
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Nice to mention that these berets first came to life in the mind of another Fedora Lounge visitor, who planted the seed in my head (and I'm grateful, having adopted one of each model for myself straight away!).
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Available as a Czech Classic and as Tartan Lined 11.5" with leather headband. Some of the best value-for-money berets stocked at South Pacific's. And for those boineros unfamiliar with the Service Star model; the leather band can be worn inward (like a Basque beret) or outward (like a military style beret).

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Kreissaege said:

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Today its one from the first batch of SPB's own line of berets.
At first, I couldn't stand it for being so soft. But once I found the proper way to wear it - all the way forward and to the left - it quickly became a favorite.

(But then every beret is a favorite once I wear it )

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leftyguy said:

View attachment 90562 Here's my new Czech Classic Mammoth - love the colour, thx Daan!

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Glad you like it (despite the extra cost on duties...). It is a new phenomenon, the implementation of earning revenue on small purchases coming in from overseas. For years, German Customs were the main culprit; not only charging duties, but also delaying deliveries (at times up to 3 months!).
Nowadays more European governments decided this is a way to fill the coffers, and so does my own New Zealand (wholesale for me of course, but still, there have been times that I paid almost 100% of the shipment's value on taxes).

Interestingly, both the United States and Australia found that the cost of collecting the payments is higher than the actual gain and decided not to pursue this avenue (lucky US and Aussie boineros!).
There are some tricks to get around these charges and if you fear you may be charged duties on your incoming beret parcel, let me know when you purchase and I'll do my best...

Small relief that many customs officers themselves wear berets...

leftyguy said:

View attachment 90562 Here's my new Czech Classic Mammoth - love the colour, thx Daan!

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1280almas said:

"ethnic sentiments", "incorporated Spanish Catalonia".
What are you talking about?

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What else can I say than the words I already used? Ethnic identity is typically reinforced by the accompanying language and outwardly by identifying symbols, such as headgear (think Basque beret, Serbian šajkača, Catalan barretina, etc).
And as for an independent or in Spain incorporated Catalonia, one only has to turn on the radio to hear the news bulletins opening on this issue (even here, at the bottom of the world).

I'd rather stay away from expressing sympathy with either party in this case; a big knot that is getting harder to undo every day.
Personally, I prefer these more peaceful, rustic pictures from Catalonia:

alanfgag said:

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