La marinière was a uniform for sailors and fish men in Brittany until Coco Chanel decided to make it à la mode, in Deauville. The navy look became a stamp for summer holidays.

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It is now an essential item and a “oh so big French cliché” but let’s see how it stayed fashionable through the years and how we can wear it today.

In the 80’s famous designer Jean Paul Gaultier created a collection using the striped T-shirt on men. Since then the marinière is the JPG trademark. The pattern stretched beyond T-shirts and is now used on many holiday accessories, such as bikini, sunglasses, shoes, bags etc.

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t got a marinière in their wardrobe, to me it goes with everything and it is so easy to wear. You don’t need to be a fashion goddess to figure out what goes with it and that’s why this piece of clothing is perfect!

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Personally, I like a marinière to be a bit loose, I would even take it a size bigger. I had a crush on this Sandro one but you can find more classic and cheaper marinière’s on Petitbateau website.

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A lot of celebrities are often snapped wearing the classic stripe T-shirt but the „it“ girl Alex Chung knows how to wear it the best – I’ve seen various photos of her wearing it with different outfits.  I  like this one also because of her flashy nail polish.

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I really like the idea of a bright colour combined with a marinière, like red shoes or a red coat with maybe a touch of leopard which also adds a French note.

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However, I also like to wear it with kaki Parka and I absolutely adore this one from Zadig Et Voltaire.

So whether you are off on holiday, hitting the shops or having drinks with the girls – you can style your marinière for any occasion. It really is a wardrobe must!

I wish you all a wonderful weekend!

Victoria