The Brand New Laulhères!

Well overdue, but they’re here – finally! The new stock by French beret manufacturer Laulhère and, if I may say so myself, some very interesting berets among them.

All new are the “Classic Workers Berets”: No-nonsense, classic workers berets in 100% merino wool, lined and carrying the decades old labels Bortia and Chirola, especially reincarnated by Laulhère for South Pacific Berets (and not available anywhere else). Quality berets that should last you years, available in a large variety of colours in a 280mm diameter. Great berets at a small cost of only $ 45.00.

More in the Laulhère Béret Casquette range; true berets in the sense of manufacturing, but with a definite peak. Not quite a beret, not quite a flat cap - it's a Béret Casquette! And now available in Basque Authentique quality in Bordeaux and Grey.

Also completely new in our range is the béret Pedrito (or "Little Peter"), an an old Laulhère label that has seen continuous use over the decades. The Pedrito is a top quality merino beret in marine (navy), 10.5 pouces / 295mm diameter with leather headband, satin lining and luxurious finishing. The card-playing Pedrito comes in a cotton gift-bag, at $ 65.00.

And many existing labels have been re-stocked, so most labels, colours and sizes available again!

Have a look here, on the Laulhère shelves of South Pacific Berets:http://southpacificberets.com/france---bérets-laulhère.php

All Hallows' Eve and Pumpkins

Halloween or Hallowe'en, also known as All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly celebration observed in a number of countries on October 31, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Hallows and the day initiating the triduum of Hallowmas.

According to many scholars, All Hallows' Eve is a Christianised feast originally influenced by western European harvest festivals (hence the pumpkin!), and festivals of the dead with possible pagan roots, particularly the Celtic Samhain.

Typical festive Halloween activities include trick-or-treating (also known as "guising"), attending costume parties, carving pumpkins into jack-o'-lanterns, lighting bonfires, apple bobbing, visiting haunted attractions, playing pranks and telling scary stories.

Berets in Gay Pride

Gay pride or LGBT pride is the positive stance against discrimination and violence toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people to promote their self-affirmation, dignity, equality rights, increase their visibility as a social group, build community, and celebrate sexual diversity and gender variance. Pride, as opposed to shame and social stigma, is the predominant outlook that bolsters most LGBT rights movements throughout the world. Pride has lent its name to LGBT-themed organizations, institutes, foundations, book titles, periodicals and even a cable TV station and the Pride Library.

Ranging from solemn to carnivalesque, pride events are typically held during LGBT Pride Month or some other period that commemorates a turning point in a country’s LGBT history, for example Moscow Pride in May for the anniversary of Russia's 1993 decriminalization of homosexuality. Some pride events include LGBT pride parades and marches, rallies, commemorations, community days, dance parties, and large festivals, such as Sydney Mardi Gras, which spans several weeks.

Watsonville Brown Berets shine at First Annual LGBT
Common symbols of pride are the rainbow or pride flag, the lowercase Greek letter lambda (λ), the pink triangle and the black triangle, these latter two reclaimed from use as badges of shame in Nazi concentration camps.

Being gay is allowed in the US military, as long as you keep your mouth shut about it...

Peter, the Russian Artist

No further information but the title "Peter, the Russian Artist in Saint Malo" and the photographer, Oleg Moiseyenko. Nice photograph, though.

Philippe Bidart

Philippe (also Filipe) Bidart, (1953, Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is a historic leader of the revolutionary organization Basque Iparretarrak.

After his studies at the seminary, he became a teacher in a 'Ikastola'. He became active in the movement Iparretarrak and went into hiding from 19  March,  1982 after the murder of two policemen in Saint-Étienne-de-Baïgorry.

After seven years on the run, he was located and arrested on 20  February, 1988 at Boucau. He was sentenced twice to imprisonment for life. once for the murders of two CRS in 1982 (he has always denied involvement in the shooting), and for the murder of constable Roger Buschman in Biscarrosse on 25  August  1987.

He was incarcerated at the Central Prison of Clairvaux (Aube) from 1988 to 2007, when he was granted parole. Between February 2007 and 2010, he lived in Béziers (Hérault), being subject to the rules of parole and with banishment from the Basque Country and neighboring departments. 

Since his release from prison, Philippe Bidart is a member of the Basque party Batasuna Abertzaleen. In 2010, he returned to his native village where he worked as an accountant in the company of his brother.

The New SPECIAL: Tarte Winter Version!

For all of you in the Northern Hemisphere, feeling the approach of winter: this is your saviour, the Chasseur Alpin's field uniform winter version of the Tarte (in 200 grams weight!) in a dark navy-blue; a beret that is, even in France, very hard to find. Made by Laulhère in Oloron-Sainte-Marie (Departement Pyrénées-Atlantiques). 

Due to French Government regulations, these berets have to be re-fitted with a plain lining and with the military label removed before they can be exported and sold to customers outside the French military. Therefore, these berets have a plain black cotton lining and carry the South Pacific Berets label.

These Tartes in 320mm diameter are not fitted with a headband, but have a thick wool rim which is sized, making these berets extremely comfortable and well fitting.
Now on SPECIAL for a limited time with 15%+ discount at $ 75.00.

Two Faces - One Beret

Two Faces - One Beret

Beret Wearer Barrence Whitfield

Barrence Whitfield (born Barry White, 1955) is an American soul and R&B vocalist, best known as the frontman for Barrence Whitfield & the Savages in the 1980's and 1990's.

White was born in Jacksonville, Florida. As a child, he and his family moved to East Orange, New Jersey, where he began singing in a local gospel choir. He also sang and played drums in local rock and funk bands. In 1977 White enrolled at Boston University to study journalism and worked in a local record shop, where his singing was heard by musician Peter Greenberg of The Lyres. White adopted the stage name of Barrence Whitfield to avoid confusion with the other Barry White and began performing with Greenberg and other former members of the Lyres as Barrence Whitfield & the Savages.

Enzo Del Re

Vincenzo Del Re, known as Enzo Del Re (1944 - 2011) was an Italian singer-songwriter born in Mola di Bari (Italy), where he practiced the activity of storytelling.

Not wearing a beret in the traditional sense of the word, but close enough to justify a post on The Beret Project to this remarkable man. 

He began composing and singing his songs on the Day of Unity in his native Mola di Bariin in 1958. Soon he abandons traditional instruments and turns to percussion of various objects, accompanied with singing. He developed the art of using his body as an instrument: "linguafono", ie the sounds produced by the click of the tongue on the palate and modulated by the openings-closings of the mouth.

During the 1960's he worked for his father at the vegetable market in Florence. 
In the 1970's Enzo Del Re becomes one of the most radical on the Italian music scene, for his lyrics have a strong civil and political content, but also for his choice not to use traditional musical instruments but only percussion instruments made with recycled materials, usually chairs. In addition, for his performances he asks no more than the equivalent of the daily wage of a metalworker.

His most famous song is "Working Slowly", composed in 1974 and used by small radio station in Bologna Radio Alice as the opening and closing of their broadcasts.

His records were distributed by small labels and sold during his concerts or during political demonstrations.   

Florentino Goikoetxe and the Comet Line

 The Comet line (French: Réseau Comète) was a resistance group in Belgium and France that helped Allied soldiers and airmen return to Britain during the Second World War. The line started in Brussels where the men were fed, clothed and given false identity papers, before being hidden in attics or cellars. A network of people then guided them south through occupied France into neutral Spain and home via British-controlled Gibraltar.

A typical route was from Brussels or Lille to Paris and then via Tours, Bordeaux, Bayonne, over the Pyrenees to San Sebastián in Spain. From there evaders travelled to Bilbao, Madrid and Gibraltar. There were three other main routes. The Pat line (after founder Pat O'Leary) ran from Paris to Toulouse via Limoges and then over the Pyrenees via Esterri d'Aneu to Barcelona. Another Pat line ran from Paris to Dijon, Lyons, Avignon to Marseille, then Nîmes, Perpignan and Barcelona, from where they were transported to Gibraltar. The third route from Paris (the Shelburne line) ran to Rennes and then St Brieuc in Brittany, where men were shipped to Dartmouth.

Florentino Goikoetxea was a Basque guide who had a life "befitting a James Bond of the 1940s,".
During the Spanish Civil War he went into exile in France, where he was a smuggler and collaborated with some small French Resistance groups taking photographs and plans. Thanks to his knowledge of the area, he was chosen to guide the pilots to Spain. He got at least 300 Allied pass the border and save their lives.

Florentino Goikoetxea in the event in which she was given the Legion of Honor in Biarritz,

 on June 2, 1977, surrounded by some Australian and Canadian airmen.

The authors of the official history of MI9 cite 2,373 British and Commonwealth servicemen and 2,700 Americans taken to Britain by such escape lines during World War II. The RAF Escaping Society estimated that there were 14,000 helpers by 1945. The Comet line inspired the 1970s BBC television series, Secret Army (1977–79).

Butchers & Berets

I agree, not the kind of post one would expect from someone who's been a vegetarian most of his life, but then, after years of continuous daily blogging on berets, I am just happy to find a new beret related subject!

Of course, I could start a rant on why eating meat is distasteful, the suffering of animals and the wrecking of the planet due to extensive animal farming, but everything at it's own time and place. Here are just a few pics that do belong here on The Beret Project. Vintage photo (above) of an old French butcher; date and location unknown.

 Basque butcher's market stall, 2010

French butcher's market stall, date and location unknown. 

Michael Morgan

Australian artist and dedicated beret wearer Michael Morgan was born in Melbourne, in 1940 and had his first exhibition when only 19 years old (opened by celebrated artist John Brack).

Since then, Morgan has had 33 exhibitions; his latest exhibition (October 2013) is entitled "Bon Vivant", A cache of works celebrating, food, fruit and produce from the sea.  

The artist at home, at Bruny Island

Morgan's paintings are vibrant, free flowing works textured with lashings of paint. They are expressive, whimsical and lyrical. Morgan has lectured in Art, studied Lithography and run a regional gallery. He was once flown to Brisbane to paint an 11 by 6 metre mural in five days. He believes, “Art should transcend depth and meaning beyond just decoration.”

Michael Morgan: Phillip Island Jazz

When asked what motivates him to create, he replied, “Each day is a delight. The creative force is strong. My art is an evolving process. I am finding my own authentic voice, and that takes a lifetime. The voice is growing stronger. I just love colour and paint.” This is evident in his work.

Michael Morgan: Dalgleish

73 years young Michael Morgan lives and works at beautiful Bruny Island, of the coast of Tasmania.

Banners designed by Michael Morgan

Anna Karina, again

Anna Karina featured a few times on The Beret Project. Here are two screen shots of "A Woman is a Woman". Not only berets, but also some nice vintage Citroens (2CV and HY) feature in this film!

A Woman Is a Woman (Une femme est une femme) is a 1961 French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, featuring Anna Karina, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean-Claude Brialy. It is a tribute to American musical comedy and associated with the French New Wave. It is notable for being the first film Jean-Luc Godard shot in color and Cinemascope.

The film centers on the relationship of exotic dancer Angéla (Karina) and her lover Émile (Brialy). Angéla wants to have a child, but Émile isn't ready. Émile's best friend Alfred (Belmondo) also says he loves Angéla, and keeps up a gentle pursuit. 

Angéla and Émile have their arguments about the matter; at one point, as they have decided not to speak with each other, they pull books from the shelf and, pointing to the titles, continue their argument. Since Émile stubbornly refuses her request for a child, Angéla finally decides to accept Alfred's plea and sleeps with him. Since she shows she will do what she needs to have a child, she and Émile finally make up so that he might have a chance to become the father.

Rien ne va plus, with Isabelle Huppert

The Swindle (in French: Rien ne va plus) is a 1997 French crime-comedy film directed by Claude Chabrol that starred Isabelle Huppert, who wears a variety of berets in the film.

Betty and Victor are a pair of scam artists. One day Betty brings in Maurice, a treasurer of a multinational company. Maurice is due to transfer 5 millions francs out of Switzerland, and Betty is convinced he plans to steal that money. On whose side is Betty - Victor's, Maurice's or only her own? 

Mattress Stuffing, the Old Spanish Way

Apart from manufacturing berets, or boinas, one of the main uses of sheep wool was the manufacturing of wool-stuffed mattresses in last century's Spain. José María Laguarta and his son Jose Luis show us how the wool was prepared before using it as stuffing in a mattress.
A short clip from a documentary by Eugenio Monesma Moliner. 

Eugene, Best Smiling Boinero Ever!

Please let me introduce Eugene, a friend from Western Australia, train driver, Jazz&Blues musician and the boinero with the best smile by far!

Asked why he wears berets: "I am devoted to wearing berets because they epitomise one's individuality, and when I decide which beret I am going to wear for the day or occasion, it is an expression of the self." Couldn't agree more! 

"My favourite berets are especially the wide diameter ones as they also offer practical protection from the glare of the sun and most importantly, challenge typical notions of wearing headgear. Currently a proud owner of 8 berets (2 more to arrive) and many more to come!"