Béret

The béret, heretofore peculiar to the Latin Quarter and the head of Jean Borotra, has now been seen on the Prince of Wales and General Trotter. Telegraphic dispatches from Biarritz reported that the two men were observed on the golf course ‘wearing bérets adjusted at exactly the right angle.’

By the older villagers the whole idea is looked upon as nothing less than madness, and is classed by them with the wearing of bérets by young men, the drawing of the “idle money,” and the carrying of a comb with which to smooth back a cascade of hair that otherwise might interfere seriously with its owner’s vision.

For school and sport wear, bérets and caps have superseded more conventional forms of headdress for boys and girls alike.

Youth and agility characterize the white-clad figures wearing bérets and Basque sandals.

The Mülhauser Tagblatt, official Nazi daily paper for Upper Alsace, April, 1941: “Kreisleiter Murer took the opportunity to deliver a last warning to the few still living in Mülhaus who do not want to learn. It is that small clique of people who . . . walk about wearing bérets and converse in French. We can compel these people, and if they do not mend their ways, we can compel them more quickly than they expect. Müilhaus is a German town, and in a German town there is no room for people who do not want to be German.”

They were surrounded by men and boys wearing bérets who, armed with cudgels, their aspect fierce and determined, clamoured in unison, “Death to Daladier!”

“Hunters,” Armando says. / “Not so sure,” Paul replies. “Look how they’re dressed. Too neat and not outfitted for the cold. They’re wearing bérets, for God’s sake. Hunting? That dog’s a herder, not a hunting dog. They have a rifle. That doesn’t bother you?”