A CASE OF THE STRIPES

The current rise of nautical attire and “sailor stripes” in the worlds of high and ready-to-wear fashion

By: Jack Leary

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Credit: Harper's Bazaar

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Every new year offers new friends, new feelings, and new possibilities for your future. With all these changes, planning outfits for events and functions is essential. What will you wear to the club? What about that important presentation you’ve been practicing? The fashion world expects these questions, and becomes fixated on what the hottest trends are going to be. 

Asymmetrical designs might be in, cute sportswear that is multifunctional might rise in popularity again, or clashing animal patterns might make its way to the top of everyone’s must-haves lists. While that is all very exciting, the one thing that never goes out of style is the appeal of staples – accessories or items that can go with anything and look fantastic everywhere. 

The challenge, of course, is finding a fresh twist on a timeless classic,

This year, major fashion houses like Dior and Off-White leaned into motocross attire, while Chanel and Valentino took control of frill and fringe. These houses all took different approaches this year, but seemed to compete for how they could take small details and accessories and create new standout pieces that could be special, one-of-a-kind pieces. While all of these brands competed for who could “out-do” the other, houses like Schiaparelli and Ralph Lauren took the simplicity of “sailor stripes,” and essentially reinvented the wheel 

The legendary Jean Paul Gautier said it himself, the sailor stripe “goes with everything, never goes out of style, and probably never will” (Trending Stripes and Jean Paul Gautier's Input).  Despite being out of the main spotlight of ready-to-wear clothing design for nearly a decade since stripes of any kind became dated, fashion houses and the people are taking JPG’s words to heart, picking the wheel back up as if it had never been abandoned in the first place. 

Credit: InStyle Magazine

Professional settings of any kind, but particularly in the business world, focus on attire that revolves around plain colors of white, black, and grey to keep their workplaces neutral. Yet, it has become incredibly boring to see the same copy-and-paste outfits every year. With these sailor stripes sporting the classic colors of navy, beige, stark reds, and whites traditionally sported in nautical wear, these houses have found ways to take traditionally “unprofessional” elements and make them professional through

aesthetic appeal.

These stripes stand out, but aren’t too flashy, making clothing with these sailor stripes perfect for pairing with other staples while also being the “standout” piece for every occasion. 

Were these sailor stripes used in the French army back in the 1850s? Yes. Does that have any impact on us? Absolutely not. 

Yet, the thing that we can take away is that fashion has no beginning or endpoints. Who would’ve thought that we’d be wearing the same patterns and items that Pablo Picasso may have worn? 

Turning utilitarian army wear into haute couture is a perfect example of how we can turn the chivalrous into chic, and how we have the potential to turn anything from the past into a newer, better version of what was once made.

Even with sailor stripes receiving more mainstream attention as a result of being a forecasted trend for 2025, coastal cities around the world have continued to push the nautical style that they wear every day to do virtually anything, where you see brands like Vineyard Vines and Lilly Pulitzer thrive. 

Credit: W Magazine

Yet, these brands have started including the sailor stripes in their everyday wear collections as well, somewhat taking a step back from their traditional bright colors and patterns that span across every article of clothing they make.

Seeing these traditional nautical-themed brands make the change back to including sailor stripes, it seems that by reinventing the wheel, these fashion houses have made an impact like no other. Whether these stripes are worn to professional meetings or casual brunches, both houses that don’t focus directly on nautical attire and brands that focus directly on nautical attire have shifted their attention to giving people what they yearn for: a new twist on a timeless classic that people can use as a staple.

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Jack Leary is a current Online Writer for Rowdy and is studying Psychology: Behavioral Analysis at UF. He is obsessed with Spotify, having a total of 26 different playlists dedicated to different genres.