Flashback: Jenny
One thing that never seems to go out of fashion is stripes. A good striped tee is a staple item in many people’s wardrobes. Why? Well it is probably because they are so versatile… so timeless.
This is my mum back when she was in her 20s. A striped tee was a must-have in her wardrobe and is something that she still wears 20 odd years later. When asked why this was she said:
“I think I’ve always had stripes in my wardrobe. Maybe it’s subconsciously because I was brought up in a seaside town where stripes are featured heavily on everything from kitchenware to, of course, clothing. I know when I was a teenager I had a blue and white striped tee which I adored so, I presume that’s where my attraction to stripes began.
“In all honesty though, my clothing choices were down not to how I looked but to what suited my lifestyle. At that age I was doing a lot of walking, visiting places and going to the pub... t-shirts are comfortable and practical!
I also like wearing colour so a striped t-shirt can be a good way to do that especially when my go to bottoms of the time were plain jeans.”
If we look back to the history of striped clothing or the ‘Breton stripe’ it actually arrived in 1858 in the uniform of the French Navy. It only became fashionable however in 1917 when, Coco Chanel was inspired by the uniform and used it in her ‘Nautical Collection’. This was iconic in more ways than one as it formed the casual woman’s clothing style that we all know and love today. Before Chanel re purposed this pattern, fashion was very much stuck in the classic feminine style that relied heavily on corsets and structure.
In later years actresses like Audrey Hepburn, Ginger Rogers and Brigitte Bardot wore stripes on and off the movie screen. This also helped to make a striped tee a true wardrobe must-have. In more recent years fashion icons such as Alexa Chung and Olivia Palermo have worn Breton stripes in many of their fashionable looks.
It definitely seems as though the Breton stripe – particularly in the form of a striped tee is one we will carry on seeing on clothing for years to come. Whether it’s for comfort or style there’s a lot of love for the stripe.