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Story THUY TIEN
Photos INTERNET
The striped pattern of sailor shirts has stirred the fashion world for more than a century.
A soft power
Beyond aesthetic value, fashion encompasses a political dimension. As Andrew Bolton once said: “Clothing is a mirror reflecting the era.” In the mid-19th century, the British Royal Navy was the strongest in the world, making naval attire a symbol of loyalty, bravery and the nation’s formidable prestige. In 1846, Queen Victoria commissioned a naval-inspired outfit in blue and white with a sailor collar for her four-year-old son, Prince Albert Edward. Little did she know that, against the coming backdrop of two world wars, the naval clothing trend among the upper class would rise stronger than ever.
Unlike the folded triangular collar, the Breton shirt for the French Navy, introduced in 1858, emphasized 21 horizontal stripes in blue and white, symbolizing Napoleon’s 21 victories against the British Empire. The contrasting colors were carefully chosen to facilitate rescue operations when soldiers fell overboard.
Following sea trade routes, Eastern countries also gradually synchronized with the maritime flow in the era’s attire. In 1913, Russian Empress Alexandra Feodorovna captured the image of her son in a sailor collar shirt with perpendicular lines at the edges. In Japan, while this style had been integrated into boys’ uniforms since 1879, it was not until 1920 that girls’ uniforms began to modernize, erasing the traces of the Meiji era with traditional pleated hakama pants. From here, we see the declarations, regardless of East or West, that a shirt designed in the sailor style of that time could contribute to the common discourse: affirming collective spirit or social status, while challenging old values in the victor’s stance.
Manifesto of identity
Yet, it was not until Coco Chanel (1883-1971) redesigned the Breton shirt in 1917 that the striped pattern officially entered the realm of high fashion, showcasing the wearer’s independent personality. Growing up with the corset shaping the body’s form, Coco Chanel liberated herself from the constraints of beauty by pairing the Breton shirt with long pants and a wide belt, a dynamic and simple appearance starkly different from the luxurious, sequin-adorned ball gowns of the Belle Époque era.
During this time, the first wave of feminism helped women gain the right to vote and participate more fully in sports. By choosing jersey fabric (typically used for men) for the Breton shirt, instead of the traditional knitted wool of sailors, Chanel set sail for gender equality beyond political implications, towards equality in presence, fashion and lifestyle. The enthusiastic young women of the time embraced CHANEL’s spirit: they cut their hair short, wore straight-striped shirt dresses, trousers or sportswear and danced the Charleston. The nautical style transcended the sailor’s definition to touch upon women’s identity and the adventurous spirit in fashion.
Beyond the story of gender, the Breton shirt walked hand in hand with the distinctive colors of many 20th-century geniuses. It’s not hard to spot Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) wearing a striped shirt, whether on the balcony or in his studio, as if the garment had become a part of his life. If Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) paired a dark Breton shirt with long pants and a pixie cut exuding a youthful and trendy look, Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) was all about the boat-neck dress and waist belt, embodying elegant femininity. Each way of pairing the striped pattern became a unique style statement of the wearer.
Waves of creativity
On the global fashion stage, carrying childhood memories of the sailor shirt from the wardrobe his mother chose, Jean Paul Gaultier has brought the striped pattern to new heights since his first collection in 1976. From “suspending” a shirt in front of the model’s body paired with a long chiffon skirt in his Spring/Summer 2003 collection to integrating Breton stripes into jumpsuit shapes, dresses, and high socks with navy blue eyeliner in the Autumn/Winter 2015 collection, Gaultier has continuously expanded the scope for his creative philosophy around the classic lines. In 1995, when launching the men’s fragrance Le Male, he brought Breton stripes into the perfume bottle’s design with a masculine body mold, making a mark in the contemporary creative community.
Today, the striped pattern continues to sweep the runways of fashion houses like Yves Saint-Laurent or Céline. Just a search for “Parisian Chic” quickly navigates us to the Breton shirt that is classic and elegant, yet dynamic and minimalist. The creative horizon for the striped shirt seems to have no endpoint, always waiting for open-minded and innovative thinking to refresh the deep blue sea-colored pattern, especially as summer saturates the earth and sky.
