A beret, French for 'cap', is a brimless, loose-fitting hat originally developed in the Basque region during the 19th century. To this day, the original Basque beret design is considered to be the standard by which all other berets are compared. But the first beret wearers were primarily poor French farmers and Basque shepherds, not the Bohemian artists most closely associated with the beret these days.

As the beret became more popular, French hat designers modified the style a bit, using wool felt instead of the original knitted wool. In a typical Basque or French beret, a leatherette band is measured against the wearer's head for a proper fit. The wool felt can be dyed in a variety of colors, from the traditional black to burgundy to white. The hat itself is a loose fitting oblong cap, often with a small button on top to hold the sections together. The beret wearer usually sweeps the cap to one side, creating a chic, informal line.

The beret soon became a trademark of sorts for the Bohemian French culture of the early 20th century. French artists, poets and other free-spirited denizens adopted the beret as a symbol of counter-cultural identification. The British Army became the first military organization to commission a modified beret for use by specialized forces in 1918. Even guerrilla fighters such as Che Guevara adopted the beret as their headgear of choice. During the 1960s, the beret enjoyed a resurgence as a fashion item, featured prominently as Faye Dunaway's hat of choice in the film Bonnie and Clyde.

The largest beret customers in the world today, however, are most likely military organizations. The United States Army still has an elite Special Forces unit known worldwide as the Green Berets. Indeed, many international militaries use different beret colors to distinguish themselves on the battlefield. A decision by the US Army in the 1990s to replace the standard issue 'ballcap' head covers with a form of beret initially met with some resistance, but it has now become an accepted practice. According to the official Army training manual, each recruit should spend an average of two days preparing his or her beret for proper military duty. This means using a cigarette lighter to burn off extraneous wool fibers, a disposable razor to shave off all 'fuzzies' and a warm water soak to customize the fit of the beret.