Jack Nicholson and his NY Yankees Beret

He's never going to be someone who blends into the crowd.

And Hollywood legend Jack Nicholson certainly stood out as he wandered the streets of Paris on 1 March, dressed eclectically after jetting in for the funeral of friend Willy Rizzo. The Shining actor headed to the family home of the late Italian photographer to give his condolences before changing into a more appropriate outfit for the funeral later in the day.

Wanting to assimilate to the French culture but not lose his US identity, the star donned a New York Yankees beret, worn especially for the trip.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police

It's not my habit to post pictures of police and military units wearing military style berets on The Beret Project, but the Jammu and Kashmir Police is well worth an exception. The combination of long beards and maroon berets is not often seen together in any (para)-military unit.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police is the law enforcement agency for the state of Jammu and Kashmir in India. They work with the Indian Army, the Central Reserve Police Force, and other Paramilitary forces of India to keep the state secure from incursions from Pakistan. They investigate cases of alleged misconduct by other units of the security forces.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police comes under direct control of Department of Home Affairs, Government of Jammu and Kashmir. The Jammu and Kashmir Police is headed by Director General of Police (DGP).

Martí Boada, con Boina

Marti Boada is a geographer, naturalist and doctor in environmental science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, UAB).

Boada's main research fields are environmental change, urban and forest biodiversity and environmental communication.

He is a member of the Spanish Committee of UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), the Education and Communication Commission of the IUCN (The World Conservation Union) and the Global 500 Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme.

Czechs M*/F*

Role Models

New on Special!

New in the 'SPECIALS SECTION', the béret Vrai Basque is one of the oldest, and most popular, beret labels still in production. Now on special for a limited time at only $ 49.50 in two diameters in Marine/Navy. 

The Vrai Basque is available in a small diameter beret of 9 pouces (256mm) and also available in the larger diameter of 10.5 pouces (291mm).
Matching satin lining, carrying the embroidered Vrai Basque label and naturally impermeable.

Charlize Theron with Beret

Charlize Theron is a South African actress and fashion model. She rose to fame in the late 1990s following roles in The Devil's Advocate, Mighty Joe Young, and The Cider House Rules. 

The Berlin Wall; Before, During & After

Construction of the Berlin Wall at the corner of Lindenstrasse and Zimmerstrasse.

Along 'die Mauer"

Selling The Wall

Emanuel Felke with Baskenmuetze

The Protestant pastor Leopold Erdmann Emanuel Felke (1856 - 1926) was a naturopath who developed the eponymous Felke cure, and who was active in Repelen near Moers from 1896 to 1914 and in Bad Sobernheim from 1915 to 1925. He also practiced iris diagnosis (iridology).

Pastor Felke in Repelen in front of the Linden Hotel

Because his treatments included applications of clay and clay baths, Felke was often referred to as the clay pastor. Felke's regimen included a healthy diet and outdoor exercise. His patients were given meals that contained little meat, healing earth applications and cold baths in outdoor zinc bathtubs, and they had to sleep on clay floors or straw sacks in cabins open to the light and air.

Thanks, Yehuda

Héctor Alterio, with Beret, in Kamchatka

Kamchatka (2002) is an Argentine and Spanish drama film directed by Marcelo Piñeyro and written by Piñeyro and Marcelo Figueras. The movie features Ricardo Darín, Cecilia Roth, Tomás Fonzi, Héctor Alterio, among others.

 The motion picture is set in Argentina during the Dirty War of the 1970s and tells the story of a family hiding from the government in rural Argentina.

Kamchatka was Argentina's official submission for the 2002 Oscar Awards in the foreign language film category.

Héctor Alterio in Kamchatka

The Gracias Family

Most people with the littlest interest in the Spanish Civil war know this photo, but not many know the story behind it.

It is the moment when the Gracias family enters France, the border at Parts de Mollo, together with many thousands of other refugees, fleeing Franco's forces. Captured by Dutch photographer Roger Violet, photographer of the French magazine "L'Illustration". 
Father Mariano Gracia, supporting his 6 year old daughter Alicia. His wife Pilar, Alicia's mother dead, daughter Amadeo -also maimed- following. 
Mariano died soon after, physically and psychologically ruined.

This bronze sculpture pays homage to the exiles, the only monument of it's kind in France.

Joe Castillo

Born in Mexico City,  beret wearing Joe Castillo developed a passion for telling stories using live artwork to illustrate them. He has become an accomplished, motivational artist, performer and speaker in both English and Spanish.

His latest innovation is “SandStory”, which is almost impossible to describe to one who has never seen it live. Magically, choreographed to music, Joe creates beautiful images from sand and transforms them into ever-changing pictures projected on large screens for any size audience. “SandStory” is an awe inspiring, captivating, inspirational, stand up and cheer experience.

Nicole Trunfio with Beret

Nicole Trunfio by Gianluca Santoro in Paris, for Fashion Gone Rogue.

Eva Bartok with Beret

Eva Bartok (1927 – 1998), born Éva Ivanova Márta Szőke, was an actress born in Budapest, Hungary. She began acting in films in 1950 and her last credited appearance was in 1966. She is best known for appearances in Blood and Black Lace, The Crimson Pirate, Operation Amsterdam, and Ten Thousand Bedrooms.

During World War II, Eva Bartok was forced into marrying a Hungarian officer. The alternative was deportation to a concentration camp for her and her mother. After the war, the marriage was annulled on the grounds of coercion of a minor. She had three other marriages, all of which ended in divorce. Her final husband was actor Curd Jürgens (1955–56). Her daughter Deana was born in 1957, shortly after her marriage to Jürgens ended. Three decades later, she claimed that Deana's father was actually Frank Sinatra, with whom she had a brief affair in 1956. She also had a publicized affair with David Mountbatten, 3rd Marquess of Milford Haven for several years.

During the 1950s, Bartok suffered a bout with ovarian cancer. She experienced an allegedly miraculous recovery after being spiritually "opened" in Subud. 

She died on 1 August 1998 in London.

Markets and Berets

Traditional, European markets... one thing I miss, living at the bottom of the world. No matter how genuine the community initiatives, the new farmers markets that sprout up here and there, it's not the kind of market I remember from my childhood. And many berets too, on those Dutch markets from 40 years ago.

The "haringkar", the market stall where they sold fresh fish and where I looked in horror at the eals being filleted while still alive. Oh, those childhood memories...

Zagertje, or "Little Sawing Man"

Anonymous art in an Amsterdam tree: Little sawing man with a beret on a branch of a platanus in Leidsebosje near Leidseplein in Amsterdam. 
Installed April, 1989, but nobody knows the artist or who installed it.

Sometimes hard to find, especially when the plane tree is in leaves.

Dědek v rádiovce.

"Dědek v rádiovce", or "Old Man with a Radiovka", Czech Republic.

Jaroslav Uhlíř

I'm always happy when I find material relating to Czech berets. Despite the long tradition of beret manufacturing- and -wearing in the Czech Republic, I find it hard to find (historical) material.

Jaroslav Uhlíř (1945, Prague) is a composer of pop and film music, actor, singer, comedian, pianist and presenter.

Uhlir worked as a composer for the Czechoslovak Radio, where he met with Zdeněk Svěrák (the actor famous for his role in Kolya). In 1977 signed the so-called Antichart, which protested against the signatories of Charter 77.

He composed music for several Czechoslovak films and, with Zdeněk Svěrák, worked  on creating music for children in the television series The Hour of Singing.

Traditional Farming in the Spanish Basque Country