Tuesday, February 21, 2012

HIP HIP BERET! HIP HIP BERET!

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I have always loved wearing a beret. No it doesn't have anything to do with the obvious connection to French fashions. Although I do love everything French! Ever since I was a teenager, I've loved wearing hats. I must say that some of the compliments I have received when wearing them have motivated me to continue on good hair days and on bad hair days!

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There seems to be a lot of conflicting information when it comes to the history of the beret. Some say it derives from ancient Greece, others say ancient Rome. The most prominent images that come to mind are chic Parisians and various military troops. I think about the 1950's & 60's beatniks in basement cafes reading their poetry with angst. I also think about the images of Che Guevara. His iconic beret wearing portrait was on many t-shirts for many decades. I recently saw one of him on a child's shirt with a caption that read "Who's this guy?". That made me laugh a lot. I guess Che is not as relevant with this generation of youths.

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Husband was reading a draft version of this blog when he commented that a beret isn't a very useful hat; it doesn't protect against sun nor rain. Well, neither does a wicked pair of Manolo's, but what does that have to do with anything?!

One thing I like about berets is that it's unisex. Sure there are sporting hats that are worn by both men and women, but how many types of fashionable head wear can say the same? Berets are also so versatile in terms of materials used and variety of styles. I also love that a beret can be worn with short or long hairstyles. It can be worn with a coat or just with a cute outfit. My favourite beret makes me feel sad as I lost it not long after I bought it. It was grey wool with stylized snowflake designs. I found it on display at Galerie Lafayette in Paris.

Some people shy away from hats in general. They say they don't have the right face shapes nor the right hairstyles. I say just go for it. A hat - specifically a cute beret can really show off your personality in all the right way!

Carol

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

"My mom and dad went to XXX and all I got was this dumb t-shirt"

File:Che and Fidel Graffiti Bergen Norway.JPG

Graffiti showing Che, wearing Che
wikipedia.org

I just love t-shirts. I have 2 large drawers packed full of them. Some are vacation souvenirs, some are from rock concerts, some honour movies, some have designer labels, some are from various Olympics, some have colourful surfer dude type images and some just say nothing at all. I wear them all year round on their own or under a sweater.

I think my favourite ones are from the 1970's to the 1980's. I remember when I was still in elementary school, my friends' older siblings used to wear Che Guevara t-shirts a lot. I had no idea who this guy was but he sure seemed really popular with the anti-establishment crowd. I was at a clothing store recently where I saw a baby's t-shirt that had Che's image on the front and the caption read "I don't know who this guy is". It cracked me up a lot!

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Who can forget the ones that said "Who shot J.R.?" If you don't know what that means, you were not a child of the early 80's. I used to have an iron-on t-shirt that said "90% angel, 10% devil". I was a very shy kid who got a lot of attention because of that. That's when I realised that non-verbal communication can be more effective than being the life of a party.

There was a time when self-expression came in the form of a t-shirt, whether you purchased them with prewritten phrases or you had the wording custom ordered. We could form modern day clans just by the t-shirts we wore.

I like to think that a t-shirt isn't some junky weekend wear. Mine have history, memories, powerful opinions and some even have quite a lot of sex appeal! Look through your own t-shirt drawer and wear one today that you haven't pulled out for awhile. It might take you back to an earlier decade and give you something to smile about.

How about some retro t-shirts you haven't

seen for awhile?...