Let’s Talk about the History of Beret Hats

The history of beret hats goes long back in the history. It was worn as military headgear in ancient Greece though later it became popular in French and also in some parts of Spain. As the archeologists have found out, the origin of beret hats can be thousands of years before Jesus Christ was even born. Many places in Italy and Denmark, archeologists have found evident which shows that beret hats did exist even in ancient times.

The shape and size of beret were somewhat different in different places and different times but one aspect was constant. And that aspect is the floppy hat. They were all made out of feeling as felt was easily available and cheap which made the hats available to a large number of people.

In the 1500s and 1600s, the beret hat has somewhat become more popular among farmers and also artists used to wear it. It was cheap. So it was one headgear that could be owned by anyone and protect the head while working put in the field. It is one of the reasons why beret hats gained much popularity during the 15th and 16th century.

But this was soon to be changed. Beret hat was on the verge of becoming a symbol for a political statement. During the second Carlist War, when Tomas Zumalacarregui, a leader of the Carlisle started to wear red beret hats, it has initiated a new history of beret hats where it was used by military personals.

But till this point, the hat wasn't coined as beret hats. It was simply called as flat hats. The first use of the word beret came in 1835. It originates from the Latin word "birr et um," and the term "béarnaise beret" refers to a flat, woolen cap worn by local peasants.

On the other hand, in Spain, blue beret became the symbol mountain warfare. The blue beret was used to symbolize elite member in the army.

In the 1900s, beret hats again became common in the society. People started to wear them more often. Artists used to wear it as it became trendy.

Later in World War 1, the special force in the US army used to wear green berets. They are even known as green berets at that time.

In the 1960s and 1970s, beret was used to make a mixture of statements. In the 1960s, it became a trend to wear beret hats in movies while in 1970s; it is used again to make political statements.

Now in 2017, fashion industry can’t stop talking about the fashionable men’s beret hats which are tremendous choices of accessories for men.