Beret

The Basque-style beret was the traditional headwear of Aragonese and Navarrian shepherds from the Ansó and Roncal valleys of the Pyrenees,[5] a mountain range that divides southern France from northern Spain.

The specifications were that it had to protect men's hair from the oil in a tank but not take up space in the cramped interior, and he led Gatehouse straight to his room.

[3] The beret fits snugly around the head, and can be "shaped" in a variety of ways – in the Americas it is commonly worn pushed to one side.

Military uniform berets feature a headband or sweatband attached to the wool, made either from leather, silk or cotton ribbon, sometimes with a drawstring allowing the wearer to tighten the cap.

The colours adopted for folk costumes varied by region and purpose: black and blue are worn more frequently than red and white, which are usually used at local festivities.

The black beret was once considered the national cap of France in Anglo-Saxon countries and is part of the stereotypical image of the Onion Johnny.

The beret still remains a strong symbol of the unique identity of southwestern France and is worn while celebrating traditional events.

The first areas to wear it were the Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon and Castile, but its use spread over rest of Spain during the 19th century.

Other Scottish types include the tam-o'-shanter (named after a Robert Burns' character in one of his poems) and the striped Kilmarnock cap, both of which feature a large pompom in the centre.

[18] British officer Bernard Montgomery ("Monty") took to wearing a black beret given to him by the driver of his command vehicle in 1942, and it became his trademark.

[citation needed] The beret is part of the long-standing stereotype of the intellectual, film director, artist, "hipster", poet, bohemian and beatnik.

Berets were also worn by bebop and jazz musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Gene Krupa, Wardell Gray and Thelonious Monk.

Guerrillero Heroico, an iconic photograph of the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, shows him wearing a black beret with a brass star.

The Young Lords Party, a Latino revolutionary organisation in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, also wore berets, as did the Guardian Angels unarmed anti-crime citizen patrol units originated by Curtis Sliwa in New York City in the 1970s to patrol the streets and subways to discourage crime (red berets and matching shirts).

Adherents of the Rastafari movement often wear a very large knitted or crocheted black beret with red, gold and green circles atop their dreadlocks.