Textile texts: Sailor shirts: Deep sea fishing with Karl Lagerfeld

Death is involved. Often all that was left of drowned sailors was a tattered piece of cloth. The proverbial last shirt washed up on some beach. Since every coastal village in Brittany had developed its own striped pattern for its fishermen, it was at least possible to determine the place of origin of the unfortunate man.

With this bitter legend begins the triumph of a fashion classic: the marinière. For a century, the striped jersey jersey has stood for a summery, light lifestyle with a French touch like no other textile object. Savoir-vivre between Gauloises and Café au Lait. But how did the Breton work uniform manage to become a cool must-have that everyone throws over their shoulders? Whether on the palm-lined promenades of the Côte d’Azur or in the Sylt bar, where the Nazi snobs shout.

Look, I’m so authentic. In truth, I would rather fish for sea bass.

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The unprecedented triumph of the white and blue shirt began with the French Navy. In the 19th century, they were inspired by the traditional Breton model for their sailors’ uniforms. The design underwent a standardization that, despite many modifications, is still the guiding principle today: white and indigo blue, boat neckline and 21 stripes. A number aimed at the victories achieved by Napoleon. The Grande Nation prefers to hide the fact that the Corsican suffered crushing defeats in naval battles.

Coco Chanel is said to have discovered the nautical look while on summer vacation in 1913 or 1917. The fashion history hagiographies disagree about the date just as they do about the location, which is sometimes in Normandy, sometimes on the Basque coast, but at least not in Brittany. But no matter, what matters is that the haute couture goddess has brought the military piece of equipment into the world of sophisticated beaches and Parisian salons. Chanel created the first marinière version for women out of silk, but she also liked to show herself in a Breton blouse. The fashion designer liked the straight-lined, geometric navy shirt, not least because she supposedly didn’t know complex sewing patterns.

Although fascism and the Second World War temporarily slowed down the development of the unisex classic, the little striped item could no longer be stopped. The 1960s completed the revolution initiated by Chanel. Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot appeared curly, high-end tailors like Karl Lagerfeld and Jean Paul Gaultier played and play with priceless variations of the nautical habit in their collections.

First simple, then luxury – what does that remind us of? Exactly, gentrification. Just as the establishment of galleries makes residential areas more expensive and drives out poor tenants, there was also an artist among those who helped to gentrify the seafaring divide: Pablo Picasso often posed in sailor garb.

From a sociological point of view, the “tricot rayé” is one of the ascendant cultural assets. In addition to the seafaring or fishing industries, which are generally not very respected in society, the striped look is also associated with a group that ranks much lower in the class hierarchy. Banded suits have been forced on prisoners for centuries. The eye-catching outfit was intended to immediately brand them if they escaped.

This is referenced in the Nouvelle Vague film “Out of Breath,” which made Jean Seberg an iconic face of the sailor look. She plays the student Patricia, who falls in love with a crook (Jean-Paul Belmondo). The wardrobe symbolizes the heroine’s transition into the social fringe.

Are recreational boaters on the yacht deck aware of the socio-historical origins of their wardrobe? Hardly, since Maritimes has long been part of an elitist strategy of suggestion that wants to make you believe that it has retained a certain simplicity. According to the motto: “Look, I’m so authentic. In truth, I would rather fish for sea bass.” Phrases that wealthy people use again and again. Private pilot Friedrich Merz is also “middle class”.

Like a costume, the striped knit increases the credibility of the modesty theater. The fact that the crews who toil on modern deep-sea trawlers can hardly afford the luxury sweaters from the Monte Carlo Beach Club quickly bursts the jet-set speech bubble.

But the socio-cultural transfer process does not end there. For the white-collar proletariat of the 21st century, the various long-sleeved, T-shirt or hoodie versions of the marinière have become the international summer uniform. The eternal dilemma of textile chic, which Georg Simmel discovered, is also at work here. Fashion wants to emphasize the individualism of the wearer, but ends in uniformity. Instead of “Oh, là là,” just so-so.

Of course, the fact that maritime jerseys, made from poor fabric in Bangladesh, are also available at discount stores does not change the psychology behind the choice of stripes. Copied from Picasso or Bardot, from Jean Seberg or from Audrey Tautou in the Chanel biopic, almost everyone can imagine the feeling of the sea and dream the hammock dream of idleness with a light onshore breeze. Even if this dream usually never lasts longer than until the end of the package holiday.

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