Head Scarves and Spring Cleaning!

The month of March brings back memories of 3rd grade when my teacher taught us “March comes in like a Lion and leaves like a Lamb.” I find warmth in the cold beginnings of March knowing that spring is just around the corner. And once spring arrives, all I want to do is just get out of the house and revel in the delicious spring weather. But there’s work for me at home, too. Being cooped up all winter has taken its toll on the house. The window need to be washed, the curtains and comforters aired and the dust attacked. Time to roll up my sleeves, turn on the music, get out the cleansers and scrub!

So first thing I’ll do is tie up my hair and reach for my favorite head covering. I hate the feeling of sticky hair on my neck, and trust me, we’re gonna be workin up a sweat. My favorite head covering is a pre-tied bandana headscarf made of cotton fabric. It is stretchy, breathable, keeps the hair away from my neck and is a fabulous floral print – just what I feel like wearing in this spring cleaning season!

I like to clean with natural ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar. Lemon juice I definitely want to keep outta my hair – I’m just fine with the color, thank you… And vinegar – I don’t even want to think about what would happen if that got in my hair! Plus, when I’m dusting where do you think most of the dust ends up? On me…Thank you pre-tied bandana!

Like I mentioned earlier, I do work up a sweat cleaning away on those beautiful first days of spring so I have other replacement head covers to change into when the need arises. There is my comfy cotton beret, cotton paisley headscarves and other assorted hats and caps I’ve picked up over the years. So this spring when you reach for the cleansers, take my advice and reach for a head scarf as well!

The French Legend of the Beret

Where did the Beret originate?

It’s been around so long that it’s not really clear where the beret was first invented. In fact French legend gives credit to Noah for its creation. According to the legend Noah used wool to insulate the the ark. With all the animals trampling on it for 40 days and 40 nights it very rough and turned into a tough material or fabric. That fabric, according to the legend was felt. Noah then used that felt to make himself a cap – or the first felt beret!

There is another opinion that it was shepherds who first created the beret. Why shepherds? Because they wore these knitted wool hats outside every day and due to the weather conditions it swelled and became solid felt. And thus, they had a beret.

Most probably though, the beret originated in Greece 2,500 years ago. The Romans then adopted the beret and thought very highly of it. It became the style for man, woman and child. Berets were seen everywhere in Rome. So, therefore the beret is known as a Greek – Roman hat.

From 2,500 years ago the beret has definitely come a long way, here are some of the more popular uses berets have been put to since the 1900’s.

- In the early 1900’s berets were mostly worn by the French (in France). Of course, Belgians also wore them for France set the trend for them. In France and Belgium, berets were worn only by men, either for uniform or style. It was also worn by younger boys for style.

- In the 1920’s the womens beret became very popular in America for women and girls. It was designed and decorated in a more feminine manner and was a very fashionable head covering.

- In the 1930’s the beret was mostly worn by men and boys in France and Belgium. In America, it was now little boys who wore berets for style.

- In the 1940’s, the beret was adopted by many military groups and forces.

- In the1950’s, scouts outside of France decided to adopt the beret as a uniform hat. The beret made a great uniform hat for a scout for it was comfortable and sat on the head in any position. They also got the idea from the military. Since the military had adopted this hat for their uniform it was more of a prestigious hat. However, once the military and the scouts started wearing these in France, men and little boys were rarely seen wearing berets for style anymore.

So there you have it. The concise history of the beret. The beret continues to be a fashionable head covering for women to this day and Spring Trends 2012 will definately feature this versatile little womens hat!

Introducing Berets

Cotton Berets

We’ve already written posts about Snoods, Pre-tied Bandanas and Hats so now we figured it’s time to introduce you to another one of the great headcoverings that stock the vitual shelves of MyHeadcoverings.com.
Berets
Berets are a mainstay of womens headcoverings and are worn both as a fashion statement and as a religous headcover.
Berets are becoming popular worn as a short snood that provides complete coverage but does not leave any excess material on the neck.
MyHeadcoverings.com carries lots Berets in Four different fabrics from S.G Accessories a maker that specilizes in producing quality womens headcoverings.
1) Cool Cotton
2) Cozy and Comfortable Angora Wool
3) Acrylic
4) Polyester

Angora Beret

In the winter months the really Cozy Angora Berets from S.G Acccessories are a great choice. They feature an 8 section pattern that lends a touch of interest to the otherwise plain beret.

Houndstooth Beret

If you want something with a little more personality try our  Acrylic Houndstooth Beret that has a lining to help keep you warm.
Now if youre looking for something for a more formal occasion why not try the Silver Swirls Beret a really pretty piece at a really great price!
We’ve chosen to highlight just a few of our many Berets to give you some ideas but really you should check out our whole Beret section and pick the ones that suits you best!