A beret ( , ; ; ; ) is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap made of hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre.
Mass production of berets began in the 19th century specifically in the Basque Country, where they were already common headwear among the indigenous population, before spreading to Southern France and the north of Spain; as such, the beret remains associated with these countries. Berets are worn as part of the uniform of many military and police units worldwide, as well as by other organizations.
History
Archaeology and art history indicate that headwear similar to the modern beret has been worn since the Bronze Age across Northern Europe and as far south as ancient Crete and Italy, where it was worn by the Minoans, Etruscans and Romans. Such headgear has been popular among the nobility and artists across Europe throughout modern history. a mountain range that divides southern France from northern Spain. The commercial production of Basque-style berets began in the 17th century around Oloron-Sainte-Marie in the Béarn province of southern France. Originally a local craft, beret-making became industrialised in the 19th century. The first factory, Beatex-Laulhere, claims production records dating back to 1810. By the 1920s, berets were associated with the working classes in a part of France and Spain and by 1928 more than 20 French factories and some Spanish and Italian factories produced millions of berets. After seeing these during the First World War, British General Hugh Elles proposed the beret for use by the newly formed Royal Tank Regiment, which needed headgear that would stay on while climbing in and out of the small hatches of tanks. They were approved for use by King George V in 1924.
Traditional French and Basque berets are made of felted wool, making them not only warm and windproof, but also waterproof.
Another possible origin of the RTR beret is that it was suggested to Alec Gatehouse by Eric Dorman-Smith. While the two officers were serving at Sandhurst in 1924, Gatehouse, who had transferred to the Royal Tank Corps, had been given the task of designing a practical headgear for the new corps. Dorman-Smith had toured Spain, including the Basque region, with his friend Ernest Hemingway during the past few years, and had acquired a black Basque beret during his travels.
The black RTR beret was made famous by Field Marshal Montgomery in the Second World War.) has been making bérets since 1840. The beret still remains a strong symbol of the unique identity of southwestern France and is worn while celebrating traditional events.
Spain
thumb|250px|upright|right|A [[Cantabrian craftsman wearing a boina]]
In Spain, the beret is usually known as the boina, sometimes also as bilbaína or bilba. They were once common men's headwear across the north and central areas of the country. The first areas to wear it were the Basque Country, Navarre, Aragon and Castile, but its use spread over rest of Spain during the 19th century.
In the 20th century, the beret became part of a common stereotype of rural people, often with negative connotations of boorishness and uncouthness, found in expressions such as "paleto de boina a rosca" ("a hick wearing a screwed-on beret"), which has greatly reduced the popularity of the beret in Spain. (originally bonaid in Gaelic), whose ribbon cockade and feathers identify the wearer's clan and rank. Other Scottish types include the tam-o'-shanter (named after a Robert Burns' character in one of his poems) and the striped Kilmarnock cap, both of which feature a large pompom in the centre. The Commandos de Chasse worn an unusual bi-colored beret.
In the 20th century, royal approval was given for the Royal Tank Corps to adopt the black beret in 1924, In World War II, the Royal Dragoons adopted the grey beret at the end of 1939, with other mechanised units of the British Army, such as the Royal Armoured Corps and the Guards Armoured Division, adopting the black beret in 1941.
The maroon beret (not to be confused with the red beret), was officially introduced in July 1942 at the direction of Major-General Frederick Browning, commander of the British 1st Airborne Division, and soon became an international symbol of airborne forces. In the United States and Britain, the middle of the 20th century saw an explosion of berets in women's fashion. In the latter part of the 20th century, the beret was adopted by the Chinese both as a fashion statement and for its political undertones. Berets were also worn by bebop and jazz musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Gene Krupa, Wardell Gray and Thelonious Monk.
As a revolutionary symbol
thumb|upright|left|The [[Guerrillero Heroico portrait of Che Guevara]]
Guerrillero Heroico, an iconic photograph of the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, shows him wearing a black beret with a brass star.
In the 1960s several activist groups adopted the black beret. These include the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA), the ETA (who wore black berets over hoods in public appearances), the Black Panther Party of the United States, formed in 1966, and the "Black Beret Cadre" (a similar Black Power organisation in Bermuda). In addition, the Brown Berets were a Chicano organisation formed in 1967.
The Young Lords Party, a Latino revolutionary organisation in the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, also wore berets, as did the Guardian Angels unarmed anti-crime citizen patrol units originated by Curtis Sliwa in New York City in the 1970s to patrol the streets and subways to discourage crime (red berets and matching shirts).
Rastafarians
thumb|upright|[[Rastafarian with beret]]
Adherents of the Rastafari movement often wear a very large knitted or crocheted black beret with red, gold and green circles atop their dreadlocks. The style is often erroneously called a kufi, after the skullcap known as kufune. They consider the beret and dreadlocks to be symbols of the biblical covenant of God with his chosen people, the "black Israelites".