Beret - a History on your Head

Beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned hat with a long, long history.

I still have mine. I wore it when I was a teenage girl in Russia. It was à la mode then.

And in 2002 I arrived in France with my beret in my luggage. It was autumn and I put it on.

"I thought that berets were in the past. How can you wear it? My grandma did but you.... you will be ridiculous wearing it now" - said to me my French friend. And I did not wear it, fearing being strange for these French people whose ancestors began to mass produce this romantic accessory in 19th century.

Photos by Irina Voiteleva

August Rodin in beret

A traditional basque-style beret (photo by Familjen Palmqvist, 1965)

King Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516) wearing a Renaissance beret