Saturday, February 16, 2013

Oamaru

New Zealanders are not really known for their love of berets. I have a few customers here, mainly in Wellington and Otago, often writers and artists, generally rugby fans (there is a strong link between berets and rugby that I still have not been able to unravel), but altogether, not your average Kiwi bloke. "We're an odd lot, us beret wearers", I quote one of my customers.
But when you do see them, they're not the average beret either, I learned while visiting the beautiful town of Oamaru during my last holidays.
In one of the many art and antique stores, I found this large collection of crafty (re-crafted) berets. Not completely my style, but good to see them anyway.

3 comments:

  1. Can you please tell me where these were in Oamaru? I like them and live a few hours away.

    Cheers!

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  2. Ah, I couldn't tell you the name of the place, but it is hard to miss: small, very well preserved old street in the old part of town between the 'Steam Punk HQ and the waterfront with playground at the other end; big hall that serves as a kind of antique market, with one of the stalls selling these berets. I know this sounds like hopeless directions, but I'm sure most in Oamaru could guide you to it with these directions. Good luck!

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  3. Thankfully, we are not all the average kiwi bloke. I prefer my own non-stereotype identity which isn't enforced by society at-large. Perhaps, that's why I'm drawn to berets. Reading this blog has shown me that a wearing a beret can be a sign of counter-culturalism. That's where I want to be and now my beret can give a message of where I stand.

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