This is the 12 inch, or 30.5cm, “Super Lujo”, or Super Luxury Basque Beret. Made in Tolosa, Spain by Elosegui. This is the top model by Elosegui, using only the best wool, woven and felted in house, with a dark red satin lining and nice label. This is the only brand of beret I sell. I know there are several brands out there and I’ve tried many of them but I always come back to my first love, the Super Luxury by Elosegui. I’m not sure what it is but one summer I took a famous French brand on my summer trip to Europe and by the end of the trip I was longing for my Elosegui beret; there’s just something about the quality of the wool and their process. The berets just feel ‘right’.
This beret comes with a 6.5″ headband area and wearer needs to stretch the headband area to fit their head. I include simple instructions and also have a YouTube video on how to stretch the headband.
Difficult to find even in Spain, you have found what I, in my humble opinion, consider to be THE greatest boina, or beret made. This Basque Beret is from the Spanish Basque region, made by Boinas Elósegui, a small family company; one of the last beret makers outside of China. These high quality beret are made of a substantial, superior quality black 100% wool that is woven and felted by the company. I have seen and owned a lot of berets over the years and have never found one I would consider equal in quality. A bold statement I know but I have been selling these on ebay for over a decade now and have had nothing but praise; and many reorders.
The berets I sell do not have a leather headbands, they use the beret material as the headband. Why do I like this better than a beret with a leather headband? In a word; comfort. This is a personal preference but I feel these berets fit one’s head shape better. Once Stretched to fit your head, the headband doesn’t change size (neither stretch nor shrink) or get dry and stiff like a leather band can. They can be stretched to fit even the biggest head size & shape (I recommend the 11″ and larger if you have a large head like me), and fits all but the smallest heads (the headband comes about 6.5 inches in diameter from the factory) making it a great present as there’s no guessing on size. It also rolls, or folds, up easy for putting in your pocket or packing. This is one of the few hats I can wear all day, even forgetting it’s on my head. I wear my beret year round. It’s great in the rain, shades my head in the summer (how they are used in the Basque country). I use to wear it as my bike hat; until the city mandated helmets. Darn! Should you really want a beret with a headband, most any shoe repair shop could add a strip of leather to any of these berets, and the quality of the leather will no doubt be much nicer than what a hat company would offer.
A great value made by a small 150+ year old family company in the Basque region of Spain. You can compare my berets to others costing $65 and more; it’s that nice and it’s that great a value (and my profit margin is that low). You, or your loved one, will love it, I’m sure!
The colors other than Black, Red, and dark Blue are colors I special ordered from the factory; available only from me.
P.S., the Dark Green is really really dark; almost black.
Robert Gill –
5 stars, superb quality. Merino wool, good for heat regulation and very easy to shape.
Laura Wagner –
I’ve had my 12″ black beret for 7 years, and I love it. Keeps out rain, snow, and sun. And I have never owned any article of clothing that I’ve gotten more compliments and remarks on.
Barry Levine –
This review is long overdue. I purchased this beret in January of 2012 (really!). I then did the proper sizing as Ron recommended in the included info page. This took a while as I have a larger hat size. But I was patient and, at the end, I had a perfectly sized beret which I’ve work all over the world. Funny story: I was wearing it in southern France and went into a hat shop where the owner immediately ID’d the beret as an Elosegui and showed me some of her best berets which were, of course, Elosegui. BTW: The beret still looks new after 12 years of use. What a bargain!