All aboard

We are quite clear on how fashion tends to be cyclical and trends that have caused a furore in the past often come back recharged to find new followers. If there is a style that has become a fashion classic, it is navy-related designs, which find their inspiration in the aesthetics of the high seas and sailing. Striped shirts, navy blue and red elements, anchor prints, sailor hats, coats with gold buttons, shorts are all key garments in the DNA of the nautical style. You do not have to be the captain of a ship or the owner of a yacht to look fashionable both on the high seas and on dry land. Nautical fashion is characterised by being fresh, comfortable, and natural, which is why it has a safe place in every fashionista's wardrobe. It always works, it's always in style, and there's always a good excuse to return to it.

Like many of today's trends, the navy style has an evident military influence from the past centuries. The origins of this trend go back to 1837, the year in which Queen Victoria of England was crowned, the so-called Victorian era that meant an expansion of the power of the British Empire in the political, social, and consequently the military sphere. At that time, the foundation of the British Naval Army was established, for which a uniform had to be created to make a more notable distinction between the professional clothing of a sailor and of a fisherman. It was the captain of the ship H.M.S Blazer, who uniformed the sailors with a blue jacket combined with white and silver or gold buttons, and which was designated as a naval uniform at the request of the queen. Flat colours were reserved for Marine Officers, while lower ranking sailors wore blue and white striped shirts so they could be seen in case they fell overboard. But the British weren't the only ones reinventing naval uniforms. In 1858 and during the Second French Empire, the French Navy established the uniform for its sailors: wide-booted trousers, a white shirt with a blue collar, a short wool coat and a striped sweater. The designs were to have 21 stripes, one for each victory of Napoleon Bonaparte.

And how did the naval uniform come into street fashion? This is undoubtedly one of the legacies of the great Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel. The designer discovered the uniforms after a visit to the French coast, and immediately decided to incorporate the trend into women's outfits, bringing stripes to her 1917 nautical collection. A risky move of wearing male worker’s clothing as the attire of the bourgeois woman of that time. But she was not the only one. Decades later, great fashion designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Vivienne Westwood, and Jean Paul Gaultier would take the sailor style as inspiration for their collections with the latter being the greater ambassador of the trend today.

I am wearing a navy sailor jumper. A distinctively, felt-like, vintage top with a V-neck and laces, a large tar flap falling down the back and the symbol of an anchor on the arms in red. I broke it up wearing a white shirt and a silk tie in blue with thin diagonal stripes. The stone colour tailored trousers and the burgundy/grey leather brogues keep the uniform-y style intact. The multicoloured, stripy socks, however, add more tones to the look making it more fun and relaxed. I am wearing a military-like, navy trench coat clasped with a leather belt in the same colour. The little pouch in navy and grey is the last touch that completes my nautical look.