Mention the words ‘sailor chic’ to most guys and you are almost guaranteed they’ll instantly bawk at the mental image it conjures up – from Jean Paul Gaultier’s homoerotic sailor boy TV adverts to really dodgy fancy dress outfits. In fact last Halloween I went to a party dressed as a sailor and funnily enough the only item I had to purchase to complete the look was a commander-in-charge style hat. Everything else came from items I already had in my wardrobe. And no, I’m not admitting to owning a sailor suit. It’s just when certain items are worn together, it creates the effect. This is a critical point I’ll come back to later.
Nautical is definitely more of a style than a trend per say and it re-emerges every few years, but it never really goes away completely. In that sense many items with an ode to sailor chic can become wardrobe staples that you’ll wear year after year (even coming in handy at Halloween if you want to go there).
There’s a very valid reason for this. Fashion first fell in love with all things maritime nearly two decades ago, in the eighteen hundreds, when Queen Victoria decked out her four-year-old son in a sailor suit. The look was soon emulated by parents across Britain. Since then, nautical inspired fashion has remained in the sartorial psyche with designers such as Chanel, Ralph Lauren and Yves Saint Lauren regularly displaying catwalk collections which take inspiration from sailing uniforms. Hence today the look is still as regular as the tides.
If you have so much as taken a glance in the direction of the highstreet recently you’ll have noticed the hoards of items with classical nautical elements – a mixture of stripes, polka dots, stars, chevrons and anchor prints in tones of whites, creams, navy blue and red. The key to wearing this particular look well, and to avoid looking like a new navy recruit, is moderation with a capital ‘M’. Just because the shops are full of these elements you don’t want to try incorporating them all into the one outfit. Otherwise the resulting look will be more over-the-top-sailor-shipwreck than anything else.
There is a very fine line between fancy dress and a hint of nautical fantasy so keeping it subtle by giving a nod to the trend is the way to do it. If I had to recommend only one item, it’s a navy Breton strip jumper or sweatshirt (you can’t miss them in Topman). The most classic of pieces, it’s perhaps the ultimate in menswear when it comes to this style. Paired with some jeans or chinos and even a check shirt, it injects a chic simplicity and a certain ‘je ne sais quoi’ to any outfit
Although championed by womenswear, this is one of very few looks that originates from menswear. In the shops at the moment there’s lots of different variations in shades and prints being introduced to freshen up the look. The great thing about the nautical trend is its versatility, allowing it to be incorporated into outfits for any occasion, from casual right up to formal wear. It’s not all about stripes, a simple navy blazer with clean lines harps back to nautical beginnings and is a wardrobe essential and timeless investment.
By Darren Kennedy
