Breton Stripe

The Breton stripe is a pattern of equal navy and white horizontal bands, first set down in 1858 as the knitted shirt of the French Navy. The original specification carried twenty-one stripes. Coco Chanel introduced the look to fashion after seeing it in seaside towns, putting it in her 1917 nautical collection.

Illustration: a Brittany fishing harbor, fishermen seen from behind in striped knit shirts hauling a net over a boat rail, gulls and grey-blue sea — A Brittany fishing harbor, fishermen seen from behind in striped knit shirts hauling a net over a boat rail, gulls and grey-blue sea.

Named for

Named for Brittany, the region of the French navy uniform on which it first appeared.

In the record

1858Adopted as the regulation undershirt of the French Navy, with twenty-one stripes.
1917Coco Chanel brought the marinière into fashion through her nautical collection.