The favorite headdress of French women is the beret - a kind of symbol of elegance, romance and femininity. Today, berets are again at the peak of popularity: the fashion for “genderless” accessories is passing, forcing us to pay attention to truly girlish wardrobe items. Read our article about which styles are most relevant, how to choose and how to wear a beret correctly.
Accents of the image
Street style looks
A fashionable women's headdress will not only protect you from the cold and protect your hair from the wind, but will also become the main accent of your image, you just need to choose the right model:
Evening models
Choosing the right beret
Outfits of Miroslava Duma
When choosing a beret model, you should consider not only the season and style, but also the shape of your face and even your color type:
- For everyday sets, choose models made of felt, wool, and cotton. For special occasions, velvet models decorated with sequins or lace are more suitable.
- Be sure to pay attention to the size: the beret should not be too big, but also not pull your head - otherwise you will not only have a ruined hairstyle, but also a headache.
- The shape of your face also matters: if you have an oval face type, you can safely wear any model. If you have a round or square face, choose neat, medium-sized models. A voluminous beret will decorate the owner of a thin, oblong face.
- Large facial features require large knitting, and on the contrary, small facial features will be beautifully framed by a beret with neat small knitted patterns.
- Classic black, gray and beige colors suit almost everyone. However, you shouldn’t limit yourself to a restrained palette—a bright beret will add freshness to your look. The general rule: dark tones will add severity to the image, light colors will refresh.
- A leather model will add a daring note to your outfit.
Feminine looks
In shades of gray
Green shades in the portrait area
Tenderness of white
Models made of leather (eco leather)
You should not choose a red headdress if your face is prone to redness - this color will not set off your skin tone in the most advantageous way.
Wealth of choice
How to wear a beret correctly?
There are many ways to wear women's berets. Here are some fashion tips:
- Stylists do not advise putting all your hair under your beret - this is no longer relevant. Leave a few strands or bangs free. The curls look beautiful, combed in the middle, peeking out from under a voluminous beret.
- You shouldn’t pull the beret all the way to your eyebrows - it should open your forehead at least halfway (pictured below).
- If you have a round face, move the beret back and leave your hair loose - it will beautifully frame your face and visually make it more elongated.
- Girls with a square face shape and angular features are better off wearing a beret, slightly moving it to one side - this will soften the image, making it more feminine and flirty.
- If you have straight bangs and wear them to the side, it is better to hide them under a hat or pin them up.
- If you wear a voluminous knitted beret, remember that its center should be located closer to the back of the head, and not on the top of the head.
- Do you wear your beret slightly to one side? Make sure your ears are covered on both sides (at least halfway). If one ear is hidden by a beret and the other is not, it will look ridiculous and not elegant.
- Small, classic female models look very harmonious with smooth hairstyles and hair gathered into a low, neat bun.
- A small beret plus a bob is a classic of French chic.
- In windy weather, secure your headdress with bobby pins or hairpins - both the beret and your hairstyle will not be damaged.
Images of Blair Waldorf from the series "Gossip Girl"
Blair Waldorf Sets
Complete with dress
In strict images
Emphasizing femininity
In celebrity sets
Models with a veil
Berets and accessories from Ralph Lauren
Looks with a black beret
What to wear with? We select a model according to your style
The beret is a fairly versatile headdress: depending on the model, it will fit into both a relaxed casual style and a classic wardrobe.
Here are some examples of successful combinations. Choose the look that suits your style:
- Let's start with the classics: a small black beret made of wool or felt, plus a beige trench coat and pumps or high boots - an image that seems to have stepped out of the screen of a French film.
- A small, clear-cut beret will decorate a classic coat with a belt. Complete the set with high boots and a briefcase bag.
- Voluminous knitted models are suitable for fans of casual style. Wear them with jeans or leggings, a sweater, and biker boots or sneakers - this look can often be seen in street style photos of bloggers.
- Want to create a retro look? Pair a small pillbox beret with a new look dress or a flared knee-length skirt and a fitted jacket secured with a belt. Low-heeled shoes will complete the look, and elegant ballet flats with a contrasting toe would also be appropriate.
- A wool beret will be an excellent companion. Don’t be afraid to try on models with large pompoms: such models can even be worn with mink coats. But you shouldn’t combine a fur coat and a fur headdress - you will look old-fashioned.
- A great idea for a walk: a beret in combination with a turtleneck dress, an elongated knitted one and flat boots. The look will be completed with a “messenger bag” on a shoulder strap.
- Create a look a la russe - a fitted flared coat with embroidery and a black beret, decorated with a brooch. A fur muff or reticule will add a highlight to the look.
- A playful and flirty look for young fashionistas - a small beret, slightly shifted to one side, plus a black or dark blue “school” dress with a white collar, tight knee socks and brogues.
- A beret can create a soft, feminine look if you wear it with a midi and an oversized sweater, tied with a thin strap. Let this set be made in soft, caramel-beige shades - this look will be a great idea for a date in the autumn park.
Black options with coat
Blue shades
In images on the catwalks
Exotic in decor
Kate Moss
Do not deny yourself the pleasure of trying on different styles and colors - this feminine and elegant headdress has the right to take its special place in your wardrobe!
"Boyaryna Morozova". We go from the opposite. One of the most important misconceptions of women with curves is the desire to “hide” curvy figures and a round face with even more volume. Hence - fluffy fur hats, often with long fur, or voluminous, hard, complex shapes, headdresses with large, sometimes crudely made details. Alas, by making such a choice, a woman with this type of face achieves the exact opposite effect, adding not only centimeters to herself, but also years. By the way, the same applies to long, heavy fur coats, powerful sheepskin coats and overly “puffy”, horizontally quilted down jackets.
Meanwhile, the more concise, simpler and softer the style of your hat, the more elegant and sophisticated you will look.
hat. The most feminine and aristocratic of headdresses suits not only sophisticated ladies with a perfect oval shape. Any woman can create an elegant look with a hat; you just need to choose the right headdress. For a lady of small stature, a hat whose brim does not exceed shoulder width is suitable. Otherwise, the image will look comical. And here tall and plump, it is better to choose a wide-brimmed hat. And one more rule - the larger the size of your hat, the lighter its color should be. This will make it look sleeker and lighter.
Tatyana Bashlykova
A hat with a not very wide brim is perfect for women with round and triangular faces. But they should avoid tight-fitting styles and pillbox hats. A full, but oblong face requires wearing asymmetrical hats or hats with lowered brims. In any case, avoid hard shapes - the softer the brim, the easier it will be to improvise, giving the hat the shape that suits you best. Asymmetry and lowered brims will also suit those whose faces are closer to square proportions.
The top of the hat should not be wider than your face, and you should definitely feel the top of the hat with the top of your head. A Be careful with fur hats. Long pile is definitely not your choice, we will only stick to short and thin (possibly cut) options. And one more thing: do not rush to immediately run to the checkout with the hat you like. Stay in it for a while, make sure that it does not squeeze your forehead and temples, otherwise you will get nothing but a headache from this purchase. Perhaps, a not very aesthetic mark in the form of a stripe in the middle of the forehead.
Caps and berets. Fat women should take a closer look at this type of hat. But strict, hard styles of caps, especially in military style, are unlikely to decorate a woman with a full face. Much more preferable are models with a voluminous soft top and a small visor. A classic option that suits almost everyone - beret made of soft fabric in a neutral shade. The main thing is that it is not too faded and does not turn you into a gray mouse. A neat decoration - an applique or a brooch - will refresh the look. Bright colors and unusual patterns are also welcome, but the fabric design should not be too large or geometric. In this sense, you should be careful with the cage. Frivolous details - large pompoms, for example, are also best avoided.
Knitted hats. This is where the most pitfalls are hidden. In an effort to visually narrow the face and make the head miniature, plump girls choose tight, tight-fitting hats of simple knitting and get the opposite result: the emphasis shifts to the face and, in addition, the proportions are violated - the head seems much smaller than the shoulders and the entire silhouette as a whole. If anywhere you need to maximize volume, it’s in knitted hats. Softness and freedom of form, a large, relief pattern play in our favor here. At the same time, sports hats - ski caps and others like them - can cause irreparable harm to the image. Even if you love skiing, it is still better to choose a knitted beret as a headdress for them. If in winter you want to look not just elegant, but also luxurious, it’s probably time to pay attention to knitted fur hats. Firstly, they are now very fashionable, and secondly, having the softness and pliability of shape we need, they give the image a certain fragility.
Spring has arrived: people take off their down jackets and warm woolen hats and switch to light coats and elegant berets. “Around the World” tells why such a headdress as the beret has been incredibly popular for many centuries.
How the beret came to be
Many people associate the beret - a soft headdress that resembles a pancake when folded - with French fashion. Is it because the word itself beret came to us from French, or because many heroines of the films of Godard and Truffaut - directors of the French new wave - wear this accessory.
However, the origin of the beret has nothing to do with France.
Parisian woman in beret
The headdress first appears as part of traditional Scottish costume and is still an important part of it. Tam-o-shanter (English) tam o'shanter) - that’s how it was originally called - named after the hero of the poem of the same name by Robert Burns (the main character wore just such a hat) and was exclusively blue with a small pom-pom on the top of his head. There was also another name for it - blue cap (eng. blue bonnet).
A girl in a traditional tartan tem-o-shanter, although red
There is another version of the origin of the beret, but it has nothing to do with France. It is believed that the ancient Romans borrowed the idea of the biretta (lat. birretum) among the ancient Greeks.
There is also a legend that the beret appeared among the Basques on the territory of modern Spain, and they called it boina. Perhaps it was through the Basques, who live not only in the north of Spain, but also in the southwest of France, that the beret came to the country of the Gauls.
Takes like art or takes in art
Many may think that berets have always been round, but this is not so - for example, in the Middle Ages, clergymen wore square berets. Fashion passed from church leaders to royalty. Thus, a huge number of portraits of Henry VIII Tudor in berets, decorated in various ways with feathers and precious stones, have been preserved. When creating such headdresses, tailors used satin or silk, stretched them over a rigid side, gathering the fabric along the edge. Even then, berets were worn not only by men, but also by women.
Henry VIII Tudor wearing a jeweled beret
The beret is often associated with artists, and this is no coincidence: he painted himself wearing a black beret, and in a self-portrait he also depicted himself wearing a beret. - the biggest fan of hats - he left more than one picture where he is depicted in a headdress similar to a beret.
Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn. “Self-portrait at 23.” 1629
If from the middle of the 17th century the fashion for berets died out in aristocratic circles, then among artists, especially in the era of romanticism, on the contrary, it gained momentum. Thus, the Dutchman, the author of the familiar to many, often painted characters in berets (the painting “The Artist’s Workshop,” 1666–1667), and later, already in the 19th century, characters wearing this accessory also appear in the works of the famous German artist Caspar David Friedrich ( for example, “On a Sailboat,” 1818–1820).
Pablo Picasso wearing a beret
At the end of the 19th century, Auguste Rodin and many impressionists were a big fan of this accessory, among them, and at the beginning of the 20th century, who was often photographed wearing an elegant hat.
Eternal fashion comeback
In the 19th century, the beret was one of the most common headdresses: it was purchased to order, but only royalty and the aristocracy could afford such a luxury; Arlesian berets with a low crown (upper part) were especially held in high esteem.
In the poem “Eugene Onegin” by A.S. Pushkin’s “raspberry beret” is worn by Tatyana Larina, and M.Yu. Lermontov's “lady in a crimson beret” appears in the story “Princess Ligovskaya”. At that time it was believed that if a woman wears such a small hat, then she is certainly married.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the beret became popular among the military, but this was not a whim: this element of clothing was simply introduced into the tank forces and in some technical units of France at the beginning of the First World War. Perhaps, it was from this time that the beret became strongly associated with this country.
The beret is not only a fashion accessory, but also part of the military uniform.
By the forties of the 20th century, all armored units in Great Britain began to wear black berets, and in Russia the beret is a characteristic detail of the paratroopers’ uniform.
However, today, when we mention a beret, we first of all remember film stars such as Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, the heroine of Eva Green from the film “The Dreamers” by Bernardo Bertolucci, as well as the heroine of Lyudmila Gurchenko in a red furry beret from the film “Love and Doves” by Vladimir Menshov . Someone, however, may remember who adored this headdress.
Marlene Dietrich - one of the main fashionistas of the 1930s
In the 1930s, the beret was worn slightly on one side - this is what the great Coco Chanel came up with, and since the 1960s, women have worn berets on the back of their heads, imitating Faye Dunaway, who played the charming heroine Bonnie from the film “Bonnie and Clyde” about a couple of criminals “Bonnie and Clyde” ": there she constantly appears in a beret.
In the 70s of the 20th century, the accessory, which became knitted, was worn by hippies. He begins to be associated with Rastafarians - for example, Bob Marley often wore a colorful beret over his dreadlocks.
Since then, the beret has never gone out of fashion. And every year it appears at the shows of the main designers: the headdress can be wool, satin, leather, knitted - for every taste.
The “tail” of the beret is its mysterious part
Only one question remains: why is there a “tail” in the middle of the beret? It's very simple: you have to pull it when you take off your cap so as not to stain the edges of the headdress. You can also hang the beret on a clothespin by the “pimp” after washing.
Photo: lechatnoir (in the announcement) / Getty Images, Jeff J Mitchell / Staff / Getty Images, Tudor England images / commons.wikimedia.org, Heritage Images / Contributor / Getty Images, Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images, Leon Neal / Staff / Getty Images, Bettmann/Contributor/Getty Images, julio donoso/Contributor/Getty Images
Now the trend is neat models made of felt, tweed, wool and cashmere. For colder weather, designers offer faux fur berets (but they should not be combined with fur coats, this is old-fashioned).
Leather and suede models do not lose their relevance: Maria Grazia Chiuri (Dior) again chose these materials for berets in the new collection. But large size options with large knits and voluminous patterns have temporarily disappeared from fashion horizons.
Decor
Jewelry in the form of beads, a vintage brooch or a veil will emphasize your romantic mood and closeness to art. Images with such models should not look pretentious: a minimum of colors, simple styles, different textures. But this season it is better to hide berets with large flowers and embroidery until fashion returns to them.
Color
In the spring of 2019, there are few restrictions on the choice of color: the main thing is that the headdress is not flashy and acidic. It is not recommended to wear green berets: they do not highlight the complexion in the best way. But a red or burgundy model can become your calling card. The classics are relevant: black, white, beige or gray beret will fit perfectly into any wardrobe. We invite you to consider each combination in more detail.
What to wear with a black beret
There are many options for successful ensembles; we will list the universal ones. In first place is a biker jacket or leather trench coat paired with a black turtleneck, a knee-length woolen skirt and ankle boots. You can add glasses, a small handbag - and voila, the look in the spirit of the 60s is ready.
If after sales you have black and white checkered trousers, but you still haven’t figured out how to wear them, then a black turtleneck and beret will solve this problem. A checkered shirt (especially of a complex style) in a duet with a beret will also add flirtatiousness and visually rejuvenate you by a couple of years.
We also cannot offend the stripe, since this is another trend for spring 2019. Effective images are obtained when horizontal and vertical stripes are mixed. They can be thin or wide, the main thing is that one of the main colors is black. Sock shoes, aviator glasses or a chain bag will be successful additions to the ensemble.
Suede heeled ankle boots from Corsocomo will go perfectly with a black beret.
What to wear with a red beret
The beauty of such a beret is that it can be the only red thing in the image. His proud loneliness is successfully emphasized by olive, grass and other shades of green. Black or brown in accessories, fittings and decoration will be a successful completion of the ensemble.
If you are worried that one bright accessory will look too flashy, then you can support it with a red scarf, blouse or sweatshirt to match. And the traditional Scottish check has not yet spoiled a single set with a red beret.
What to wear with a white beret
A coat, jacket or checkered shirt with white color is the best option. Firstly, this color is always in trend, and secondly, now the check is a symbol of style and impeccable taste. A large decoration on the arm, a complex coat style or layering is another way to play up a white beret so that it doesn’t look like a chef’s hat.
You can also combine the headdress with black and dark blue dresses with small white polka dots. To make the image relevant, the ensemble should contain interesting details, for example, a scarf or belt, a brooch or fur trim on a coat. A modern look can be achieved if you wear the beret with a white shirt and a voluminous cardigan.
What to wear with a beret of a complex color
A win-win option for such a beret is to combine it with glasses with colored lenses or frames. As an addition, you can choose matching earrings or a large scarf, the color of the pattern will echo the shade of the beret.
Fashionable this season, deep blue and burgundy can be introduced into your wardrobe with the help of berets. The first one will fit perfectly into any outfit with dark jeans. The second is combined with black, gray, dark green, beige, sky blue and dusty pink (that is, the most popular colors of spring coats).
How to wear a beret in style
The first and most important rule: do not tuck all your hair under your beret. Stray curls or a few loose strands near the face look gentle and feminine. Another important point: the beret must open the forehead at least halfway.
Loose hair is especially suitable for girls and women with a round face shape. Those with an oval face can either comb their hair smoothly into a low ponytail, but in this case the hairstyle does not need to be hidden under a voluminous scarf or coat. A square, rectangular or triangular face will be softened by asymmetry. You can comb your hair to one side and move the beret to the other.
