We live in the southwest of France, on the border of Béarn and Basque regions ... berets are commonly worn here. In fact, one of the only remaining French manufacturers of le beret is in our town. On any given day, I can look out my window and will likely see a man wearing a beret as he walks or rides his bicycle down the street. Although we see mostly older men wearing them, it's not uncommon to see men in their 30's/40's wearing them too. Not often do we see younger men in 20's, and almost never in teens except for festivals as Geraldine has said ... but it is fun to see the younger ones in traditional clothes. It's a lovely region ... so if you come to France, be sure to get out of Paris and visit the southwest.
Il y a tres longtemps que J'ai passé par Biarritz, Lourdes, Marseiiles, Cannes, Nice et enfin a Monaco, ou j'a assisté au cours des voitures Formula 1 en 1966 et 1967.
My first trip to France was with a study group. Our advisors made a point of warning us that berets were worn only by tourists and old men. One young French woman told me, "My grandfather wears one." That was way back in 1968! On the other hand, if you look at wartime photos of the French resistance they were worn by figures like Camus and Sartre, perhaps because of the military connection you mentioned. The beret is warm, comfortable headwear in the winter, so, I own several, but, I never wear them in France. As always, well done, and many thanks for your excellent videos.
Here in Paris atm. I see some french women/men young or old wearing a beret. It’s so gorgeous and classy to watch and very practical headwear especially in this cold and wet season.
I started wearing a beret when I was studying in Dijon in the 80's. I got gently teased about it by my friends, but I liked it. it was warm, it looked nice and it didn't give me hat hair. Of course, it has to be paired with a nice warm scarf in really cold weather. I still have several berets that are my go-to winter hats.
I travel in France once a year, and have done so for over twenty years. Once, and just once, I saw an older man in the Beaujolais wearing a beret, smoking a cigarette, with a baguette under his arm. I thought I was in a movie.
I’m loving your videos Geraldine. I’m an Australian woman excited about my first upcoming trip to Paris in July this year. You have taught me a great deal of what to do, and what not to do, so hopefully I don’t make a fool of myself. You have also taught me many words in French, now I have to put those words into sentences 😅. I think I’m going to fall in love with Paris. I love beautiful clothing and I adore French cuisine. I’ll be staying in 6th arrondissement, recommended to me by friends who frequently travel to France 🇫🇷 Au revoir or au bientot on RUclips
Maybe not now they don't, but I remember a load of French rugby supporters waiting at Waterloo when that was the Eurostar terminal circa 2000. They were all wearing berets.
It's the French equivalent of a cowboy hat. I visited the Pyrenees (Aude and Ariège) in December 2018 and saw people wearing them. There is a lot of Occitan revivalist sentiment in those départements and berets are a cultural symbol.
I wear a beret everyday. It states my french culture to my American brethren . Please don't downplay the beret; the present generation tends to degrade the past, as if a part of narcissism , be open to all cultures. Your culture experience my not be the only one!
Loved it. It is true that dressing not too high and not too low is comfortable and a good way to go. Simplicity and more neutral colors as a base along with minimal accessorizing. And hey, if you real-ly want a beret…. Merci!
I agree, she is brilliant and an excellent teacher! Just a question: instead of the French (or french speakers) using the english term "weekend", as in "bon weekend!", wouldn't (or shouldn't) they instead say "fin de semaine", as in "bon fin de semaine!" ? As an example, in hispanophone countries, nobody says "feliz weekend!" or "buen weekend!", but they/we say "feliz fin de semana!" or "tenga un buen fin de semana!" ("have a happy or good end of week").. So i was just wondering if it wouldn't be the same in France or Québec (or in other framcophone countries).. Just curious.
I always felt wearing a beret as a tourist in Paris was equivalent to wearing those Mickey Mouse ears to Disneyland; except Paris is a real city and home to millions of people.
Merci Madame…on our first visit to la belle France, I soon realized I had packed outfits very similar to what the conducteurs de train wore! I was treated very respectfully… ;)
Au Pays basque, en Aquitaine, en Occitanie, en Auvergne I would see old guys wearing a modest beret noire from time to time. Just because young people aren't wearing berets doesn't mean it's not a thing - young people do a lot of stupid things just to set themselves apart from their elders. The ones who survive to midlife might eventually might consider that their father wore a beret going into the village, his grandfather wore a beret pretty much all the time - maybe I should too.
Outside, maybe, the souhwest corner of France (Pays Basque, Pyréenees), the beret has become a fashion accessory occasionally worn by some people (especially women, urban dwellers), but very few French people routinely wear it nowadays, you can spend several weeks in France and you'll see many more people wearing American style caps than berets. The last person I really saw really wearing a beret was my grandfather who would be 120-year old this year.
Cela dépend où vous êtes ! Moi j'en porte depuis 4 ans ( j'ai 68 ans ) suis breton , mais j adore ! Le look et le confort ! Rien a voir avec les ridicules casquettes américaines !😅
Hi and thanks for very helpful videos! I like to learn from you that about what french people never do, eat or wear, but (out of curiosity) i would also like to know WHY. 😊 Why you never wear beret? Why you don't eat chocolate croissants? And so on. TIA
If I may answer you for this two examples... fashion comes and goes, au revoir les bérets and bonjour caps and other head coverings, who knows maybe one day it will be trendy again ! 🤔 for the chocolate croissant, we already have pain au chocolat or chocolatine so no need for that, I think it’s already perfect as simple as it is, but you can find almond croissant (at least where I live in south east of France).
Je suis en vacances à paris maintenant . Je vois beaucoup de femmes quit portent le béret ici . Mais je sais que toutes sont touristes. Je veux acheter le béret en 3 couleurs pour souvenir. Le blanc, le bleue , et le rouge. Comme le drapeau de la France 🇫🇷.
Mais "Aliceinparis" nous dit que le beret se trouve partout entre les parisiens: ruclips.net/video/W5yPu2TDuSg/видео.html J'en ai vu beaucoup quand j'ai visité Québec. Yay!
Thank you for the tips on real French style! I do have a question about hats though - what kind of hats do French women choose for cold weather? I Does most of the country ever get cold enough to even bother?
We live in the southwest of France, on the border of Béarn and Basque regions ... berets are commonly worn here. In fact, one of the only remaining French manufacturers of le beret is in our town. On any given day, I can look out my window and will likely see a man wearing a beret as he walks or rides his bicycle down the street. Although we see mostly older men wearing them, it's not uncommon to see men in their 30's/40's wearing them too. Not often do we see younger men in 20's, and almost never in teens except for festivals as Geraldine has said ... but it is fun to see the younger ones in traditional clothes. It's a lovely region ... so if you come to France, be sure to get out of Paris and visit the southwest.
Il y a tres longtemps que J'ai passé par Biarritz, Lourdes, Marseiiles,
Cannes, Nice et enfin a Monaco, ou j'a assisté au cours des voitures Formula 1 en 1966 et 1967.
Dommage que l'on soit envahis par nos ennemis historiques : les anglais !😊
My first trip to France was with a study group. Our advisors made a point of warning us that berets were worn only by tourists and old men. One young French woman told me, "My grandfather wears one." That was way back in 1968! On the other hand, if you look at wartime photos of the French resistance they were worn by figures like Camus and Sartre, perhaps because of the military connection you mentioned. The beret is warm, comfortable headwear in the winter, so, I own several, but, I never wear them in France. As always, well done, and many thanks for your excellent videos.
Thanks so much for this revelation
Pourquoi pas en France ?😮
Here in Paris atm. I see some french women/men young or old wearing a beret. It’s so gorgeous and classy to watch and very practical headwear especially in this cold and wet season.
They wear them where I live, in the Languedoc. Also, both the marine striped shirt and scarves are ubiquitous in this area.
I started wearing a beret when I was studying in Dijon in the 80's. I got gently teased about it by my friends, but I liked it. it was warm, it looked nice and it didn't give me hat hair. Of course, it has to be paired with a nice warm scarf in really cold weather. I still have several berets that are my go-to winter hats.
At Rugby matches where Les Bleus play, is supercool to see Frenchies in their berets supporting the team.
I live in Lyon. It must be different than Paris because berets are worn here by locals.
You must live in a different Lyon than me, dude.
I travel in France once a year, and have done so for over twenty years. Once, and just once, I saw an older man in the Beaujolais wearing a beret, smoking a cigarette, with a baguette under his arm. I thought I was in a movie.
Cliché. ! 😢
I’m loving your videos Geraldine. I’m an Australian woman excited about my first upcoming trip to Paris in July this year. You have taught me a great deal of what to do, and what not to do, so hopefully I don’t make a fool of myself. You have also taught me many words in French, now I have to put those words into sentences 😅.
I think I’m going to fall in love with Paris. I love beautiful clothing and I adore French cuisine. I’ll be staying in 6th arrondissement, recommended to me by friends who frequently travel to France 🇫🇷 Au revoir or au bientot on RUclips
Maybe not now they don't, but I remember a load of French rugby supporters waiting at Waterloo when that was the Eurostar terminal circa 2000. They were all wearing berets.
Not every days 😊
Here in the Tarn et Garonne they do.
Qu'est ce que vous faites là ?😮
It's the French equivalent of a cowboy hat. I visited the Pyrenees (Aude and Ariège) in December 2018 and saw people wearing them. There is a lot of Occitan revivalist sentiment in those départements and berets are a cultural symbol.
Born in BÉARN !😊
I wear a beret everyday. It states my french culture to my American brethren . Please don't downplay the beret; the present generation tends to degrade the past, as if a part of narcissism , be open to all cultures. Your culture experience my not be the only one!
Magnifique et très splendide themè et leçon du debut de week et dimanche pour pouvoir comprendre et apprendre à écrire la belle grammaire française
Loved it. It is true that dressing not too high and not too low is comfortable and a good way to go. Simplicity and more neutral colors as a base along with minimal accessorizing. And hey, if you real-ly want a beret…. Merci!
Merci Geraldine...you are exceptionally brilliant...bon week-end!
I agree, she is brilliant and an excellent teacher!
Just a question: instead of the French (or french speakers) using the english term "weekend", as in "bon weekend!", wouldn't (or shouldn't) they instead say "fin de semaine", as in "bon fin de semaine!" ?
As an example, in hispanophone countries, nobody says "feliz weekend!" or "buen weekend!", but they/we say "feliz fin de semana!" or "tenga un buen fin de semana!" ("have a happy or good end of week").. So i was just wondering if it wouldn't be the same in France or Québec (or in other framcophone countries)..
Just curious.
Love my Berets, even though I live in the UK and I usually have to endure being asked…”Where are your onions?”
❤😂😂😂
Yes. ! The johnnies bretons qui vendaient des oignons en cornouailles début 19 siècle ! A velo !
Come down to Pau!
Béarnais
I always felt wearing a beret as a tourist in Paris was equivalent to wearing those Mickey Mouse ears to Disneyland; except Paris is a real city and home to millions of people.
Or wearing a western cowboy hat in Houston or Dallas, Texas.
Merci Madame…on our first visit to la belle France, I soon realized I had packed outfits very similar to what the conducteurs de train wore! I was treated very respectfully… ;)
Au Pays basque, en Aquitaine, en Occitanie, en Auvergne I would see old guys wearing a modest beret noire from time to time. Just because young people aren't wearing berets doesn't mean it's not a thing - young people do a lot of stupid things just to set themselves apart from their elders. The ones who survive to midlife might eventually might consider that their father wore a beret going into the village, his grandfather wore a beret pretty much all the time - maybe I should too.
Oui c'est mieux que une casquette de base Ball i ❤ NY. RIdicule !
"French People Never Wear Berets" Not true.
Outside, maybe, the souhwest corner of France (Pays Basque, Pyréenees), the beret has become a fashion accessory occasionally worn by some people (especially women, urban dwellers), but very few French people routinely wear it nowadays, you can spend several weeks in France and you'll see many more people wearing American style caps than berets. The last person I really saw really wearing a beret was my grandfather who would be 120-year old this year.
Cela dépend où vous êtes ! Moi j'en porte depuis 4 ans ( j'ai 68 ans ) suis breton , mais
j adore ! Le look et le confort ! Rien a voir avec les ridicules casquettes américaines !😅
Berets are neither popular nor unpopular where I live in Canada. They look nice on a cold autumn day.
Sauf pour les oreilles !😊
Thanks so much for this
Hi and thanks for very helpful videos! I like to learn from you that about what french people never do, eat or wear, but (out of curiosity) i would also like to know WHY. 😊 Why you never wear beret? Why you don't eat chocolate croissants? And so on. TIA
If I may answer you for this two examples... fashion comes and goes, au revoir les bérets and bonjour caps and other head coverings, who knows maybe one day it will be trendy again ! 🤔 for the chocolate croissant, we already have pain au chocolat or chocolatine so no need for that, I think it’s already perfect as simple as it is, but you can find almond croissant (at least where I live in south east of France).
Je suis en vacances à paris maintenant . Je vois beaucoup de femmes quit portent le béret ici . Mais je sais que toutes sont touristes. Je veux acheter le béret en 3 couleurs pour souvenir. Le blanc, le bleue , et le rouge. Comme le drapeau de la France 🇫🇷.
But they are so cute!! I can totally wear them in the U.S. just as a normal type of hat. But noted, do not wear it in Paris.
But I noticed, that French Women do usually not really seem to dress in a like super colerfull Way. I heard some other People noticing that too.. :/
I think that they’re actually very impractical. I love the Breton tops though.
I didn't know Anne Hathaway had become a French host on youtube.
That's unfortunate....I think berets are beautiful !!!
Mais "Aliceinparis" nous dit que le beret se trouve partout entre les parisiens: ruclips.net/video/W5yPu2TDuSg/видео.html J'en ai vu beaucoup quand j'ai visité Québec. Yay!
Well they should. It's a beautiful hat.
Les francais ne portent pas de berets, chapeau basque. C'est a cause de la fierté francaise.
Not " basque " but " BÉARN " 😊
Not true - many MEN in Northern France
Si vous plait parler plus français. La majorité de la video était en anglais.
Beret is from Spain not from France 😂😅
Basque country so technically both.
Thank you for the tips on real French style! I do have a question about hats though - what kind of hats do French women choose for cold weather? I Does most of the country ever get cold enough to even bother?