Why it's time to dust off your Breton stripes

Your August may be focused on the homely delights of Cornwall rather than the glamour of the Cote d’Azur (who wants overpriced rosé when you can have fat, delicious pasties by the sea?), but a little part of Gallic style has long been a mainstay of the summer wardrobe, and it is one that works seamlessly in a coastal setting.

The Breton top might be standard-issue design – white interspersed with blue stripes, red if you’re feeling adventurous – but its history and associations have been long and varied.

For a child of the Eighties and Nineties like myself, the Breton stripe will always bring with it a certain campery, thanks to its endorsement by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, who adopted it as a wardrobe staple as he shot to fame beyond the Paris catwalks to present Eurotrash (mon dieu!).

Officine Generale cotton jersey top, ￡135, Officine Generale

He also made it the uniform of the chiselled torso that formed the homoerotic bottle of his hit cologne Le Male, which in the mid-Nineties was the best selling fragrance for men in Europe.

This is all a long way from the origins of the Breton, which began life – like so many items that are part of the men’s style landscape – as military attire, worn by the hardy sailors of northern France (who would perhaps not recognise themselves in Gaultier’s hypersexualised imagining).

Comme des Garcons Play breton top, ￡147, Farfetch

Originating in Brittany (“Bretagne” in French, hence the name of the garment), it became part of the naval uniform in 1858, with 21 stripes at a ratio of 2cm of white for every 1cm blue. Why? It reportedly nods to Napoleon’s 21 victories. The thick, clashing lines were also designed to be easily spotted if a sailor were washed out to sea.

From those functional beginnings, it’s become a summer mainstay, most deftly demonstrated by Picasso, who spent his time at his south of France home in Mougins barefoot and in a Breton top, or James Dean, who despite his all-American charm wore a Breton top in Rebel Without A Cause for a left-of-centre, European look.

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And whether you’re heading to the sea or spending summer in the city, it’s worth considering how to update your humble Breton; it’s inherently casual, but can look chic with a blazer too. Add fresh pale-shaded chinos and espadrilles and you’ve got a happy entente cordiale style wise.

Tracking the trend

Early years

The Breton began life as the outfit for the navy of northern France, deliberately designed to be easy to move in for life on the high seas, with the stripes designed to stand out should a fellow be swept overboard.

French label Armor Lux was founded around the same time, and has made Breton stripes its signature.

20th-century styling

Coco Chanel made adapting male attire her particular niche, going on to make the Breton into an ultradesirable women’s item. Elsewhere, Picasso adopted it as his go-to, while renegades such as Andy Warhol and Mick Jagger would take the Breton to even more bohemian environments.

Modern stripes

During his time at Saint Laurent, cult designer Hedi Slimane turned the Breton into a luxury piece with a three-figure price tag, while Gucci has adapted it with cartoon imagery and logos.

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