Berets

'French béret, from French dialectal berret and from Old Provençal berret, cap, both from Late Latin birrus, hooded cloak; see biretta.' Probably starting out in medieval Basque and France, and turning up in Italy as berretti. (There's tons to learn about the social importance of headdress for, as Witold Rybczynski points out, people were very much concerned with status rather than comfort.) Later, perhaps because of their simplicity and adaptability, berets became popular in the military, including the Canadian Armed Forces. Its cache today comes also from its association with artists and of course Che Guevara.