Q: Why do men wear berets?

I dont get it either JJ. Makes no sense. But I bet if Ashton Kucher jumped out and said "You've been PUNK'd" in beret he would get his ass kicked.

LMAO! Good point! What function DO they serve? At least with other hats they have a bill to keep the sun out of your eyes... Beanies cover your entire head and keep them warm.. I don't know the answer to this question!

Because they look dashing, and we don't have as many hat choices as the ladies do. What happened to top hats and bowlers? Unless you're going to a costume party, they're gone! Caps are ubiquitous, and so are androgynous winter caps. Cowboy hats, I suppose, but I find so few occasions where that seems appropriate, especially in Chicago. Fedoras are a little over the top. But a beret...hmmm.

I agree.

Berets are stupid.

Unless you're that dude from Myth Busters. Then you're technically a genius but still stupid.

hahaha myth busters!

Don't some men in the army wear berets?

Oh I guess you already said that. I guess I'm illiterate...

hahah yea..why is thattt??? ive always thought it looked silly =p

To wear a beret in the Army used to mean that you were in Special Forces (green),Rangers (black) or Airborne (red). Seeing one of those guys in a black or green beret, you knew instantly their elite Special Operations affiliation: that they jump out of airplanes regularly, and can kill you in a number of different ways. You knew what they had to do to earn the right to wear those berets. Also, the Special Ops guys were super anal about wearing them (the fuzz had to be shaved off, the crest positioned just right, no poofiness, etc.) Then some PC general decided to let everyone wear them so as not to feel left out- boo-hoo. And the Army population in general is lax about how they wear them, so they don't look good.

My husband was in the Army Rangers, and when they showed up in black berets everyone parted the waters for them. They got instant respect. The Rangers went back to brown berets after they made the beret part of the everyday Army uniform.

Outside of the Special Ops wearing them, I don't like them on men. The only men I've seen them on outside of the military are middle aged men hanging out on the Starbucks patio and talking about evil corporate America and the novel they're never gonna write. .

Soooooo...

They're SO manly that they can wear something that looks utterly ridiculous that it makes it seem manly even though its inherent nature argues otherwise?

Sounds like Kurt Russel and mullets and lipstick in Big Trouble in Little China. He's so manly that he made those seem awesome on a guy.

You mean to tell me those 60's beatniks were cool in berets?

Maybe berets are like the pink polo shirts of the hat world.

I wanted to report that I saw an older man in a red beret getting into his car today, and I stared at him and he thought I was totally checking him out, and then I began giggling because of this thread.

My mom gave me a picture of me when I was little in a beret. I thought about this thread. lol

hahaha Maryn! And now he's going to think that his beret worked magic since it got you to check him out and all, and he'll continue to wear it!

We need to set some ground rules for beret wearing.
I'll start--

1. You must be in France sitting under the Eifel tower holding a lit cigarette pinched between two fingers (palm facing up).

2. You must be in a Prince video from 1985.

*add yours**

You must be an artist working in the privacy of your own home studio shielded from the public eye.

You must also be wearing a thong. The thong need not show above your pants, but you may be subject to random thong checks.

Dear Readers,

The reason that certain men wear berets is because they are not consumed with repressed homo-erotic desire like most of the posters here.

If you are still confused, walk up to a special forces operative and tell him he looks silly.

Throw away your toy hats lads and dress like a man.