She wore a raspberry beret…

But not the kind you’d find in a second-hand store.

Berets are usually associated with Basque culture, but Béarn was actually the birthplace of the beret. In the Middle Ages, Béarnais shepherds used the wool from their sheep to knit themselves these circular caps. At one time, all men in this region wore berets and boys were gifted one at about 10 years old to mark the transition to manhood. It’s still quite common to see men in berets in this part of France.

The Laulhère factory in Oloron-Sainte-Marie is France’s only remaining large-scale beret producer, but in a little shop in Orthez, an artisan beret maker gave us a tour of her workshop and explained the production process.

Made from pure merino wool, the berets are breathable and water resistant and can be worn in most weather conditions. What makes Sara’s berets unique is that they still have a drawstring to adjust the size whereas factory-produced berets have a leather band around the brim (which, unlike Merino, isn’t breathable).

There were about a dozen colours to choose from, but the decision was made easier by the fact that I’d barely have one on my head and Sara would say, “No, not blue for you” and I’d move on to the next one, until we got to bordeaux and she said, “Yes! Very…class?” Ray ordered a ‘miki’ style (basically a Merino toque, not traditional but one he’ll wear). He chose black, despite Sara saying, quite emphatically, “No, not black.” I guess he’s less impressionable than I am when it comes to fashion. They also debated whether the hat needed to cover all of his ear (Ray’s argument) or just the top bit (her argument). She told him his cold ears were all in his head. I think she liked taking the ‘miki’ out of him. Ha ha. Get it?

If you know someone who’d rock a beret, check out Sara’s website. She is, I believe, the only remaining artisan beret maker in France, and she was a delight to spend time with.

Béarn is also the birthplace of the men who inspired The Three Musketeers, and as we walked around the medieval sites of Orthez, once the capital of Béarn, it felt surreal to imagine that these fairytale-like characters had probably crossed the same bridge centuries ago.

We saw a very large open-air arena as we walked around Orthez, Arène du Pesque, but couldn’t figure out what it was, so we asked Sara. It’s a bullring where they still regularly hold bullfights. That’s one local tradition I have no desire to witness.

* Apologies if I’ve transferred the Prince earworm to you…I’ve had the song stuck in my head for days now. “She wore a raspberry beret, cause she needed to cover up the grey, raspberry beret…”