Monday, November 28, 2011

Men in Red Berets

It may be the most popular colour beret for women, men too wear red berets.
Historically the most obvious group were the Carlistas, a group of ultra-orthodox Catholics (we would say fanatic fundamentalists these days) who adopted the red beret (with tassel) as one of their symbols. Not something you'd want to be associated with, really.
But it is also the beret of choice for festivals, brass bands and worn at large parties.
Hugo Chavez is the most obvious representative in the category of military dictators (Khadafi did not wear one himself, but his all-female bodyguards did).
In the arts we find paintings by Frans Floris 
and Gaugain
and of course there are the Guardian Angels:
The red beret I prefer wearing is a small diameter beret with the embroidered logo of the French motor club Les Petrolettes Dauphinoises.

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