Beach Wear

It's a small step from a boat to the beach and marinières tend to do well on both, not only as a sailors top, but very much as swim-gear too. Like at this 1906 beach in Atlantic City (top), or this retro style bath-suit (below).  

And of course dozens and dozens of bikinis, ladies' bath-suits and beachwear with blue and white stripes...

 

Alexa Chung

Photo model and TV-presenter Alexa Chung has been a great advocate for the Breton Striped Shirt.

In 2007, Chung came to the attention of the fashion press for her distinctive, quirky style. She frequently appears on Best Dressed Lists, in fashion magazines and on the front row of fashion shows. In December 2009 she came top in Vogue's Style List. She has dismissed the notion of being an It girl, saying “there’s not much to being an It girl. It’s really quite a depressing title to hold”.

I can't be bothered with the celebrity side of things, but someone doing good work for the marinière, sexual health, the Aids Fund and many more ngo's deserves a place here. 

Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison

I wrote about the stripes as a prison uniform before but this shirt here is quite an extraordinary sample: a 1968 Johnny Cash Folsom Prison Tee. 

Since his 1955 song "Folsom Prison Blues", Cash had been interested in performing at a prison.  Backed with June Carter, Carl Perkins, and Cash's band, the Tennessee Three, Cash performed two shows at Folsom State Prison in Folsom, California on January 13, 1968. The resulting album consisted of 15 tracks from the first show and two tracks from the second.

Despite little initial investment by Columbia, the album was a hit in the United States, reaching number one on the country charts and the top 15 of the national album chart. The lead single from the album, a live version of "Folsom Prison Blues", was a top 40 hit, Cash's first since 1964's "Understand Your Man". At Folsom Prison received good reviews upon its release and the ensuing popularity revitalized Cash's career, leading to the release of a second prison album, At San Quentin. The album was re-released with additional tracks in 1999 and as a three-disc set in 2008.

Photographer Willy Ronnis

Willy Ronnis was one of our greatest photographers, a humanist witness to a troubled 20th century. Willy Ronis passed away in September 2009, on the eve of his hundredth birthday. 

Ronnis bequeathed his photographic collection to the French State in 1983. You can find five articulated themes intrinsic to Ronis’ oeuvre: the street, work, travel, the body and intimate moments from Ronis’ own life. 

At the Monnaie de Paris you'll find many nostalgic images of post-war Paris, of course, but you’ll also discover many never-before-seen photos, including more contemporary shots from the 80s, which give a more complete picture of the passionate photographer’s life work. Visit the Paris exhibition.

Usine de textile du Haut-Rhin, 1947

His relationship with the human body, which can be seen in his female nudes or in the silhouettes walking in the street, are also a part of this aesthetic world in which social commitment is never far.

"Femme au maillot rayé se découvrant au milieu de plantes"

Tights

                         
  

And to continue with another variety on the underwear theme: tights!

I was always told that horizontal stripes make you look bigger (as a teenager when wanting to look big, as an aging blogger wishing I didn't), but looking at these pictures, I start questioning my mother's knowledge on these matters.

And also briefs, tanga's, thongs, boxers, jockstraps...

No, it's not just blue & white striped lingerie and "adult underwear" that makes it onto this blog.

Many brands of men's underwear have found the Breton Stripes too, from XXL to minuscule, in briefs, tanga's,  thongs, boxers, jockstraps..., you name it.

Personally, this time of year in the Southern Hemisphere, I'd rather go for something like this:

On-Line Shop "South Pacific Cowboy"

From today: you can get your marinières and many more interesting and hard to find items at South Pacific Cowboy.

Shirts, Basque berets, shawls, bandanas, pasa-panuelo's, mate gourds, bombillas...

And the assortment expands constantly!

Striped Shirts - German Style

A slightly different feel compared to the laissez faire Breton shirts and the wide and loose telnyashka's, these striped shirts from the German North- and Ost-Sea Coast. 

Collarless, three-buttoned shirts with narrow stripes and by the looks of these pictures, preferably ironed. Original seamen's and women's gear, nonetheless (and for sale here).

Pin Ups

Sailors and PinUps - if they haven't invented them, they sure made them big. 

And somehow, slim, long legged, breast- and thigh showing girls seem to do well in a sailor's uniform. 

Charles "Sonny" Haile

This is a portrait of Shorpy's uncle Charles "Sonny" Haile taken around 1949 at the age of 17. That's right, 17 years of age, he falsified records to get in the Navy, or actually, his Mother signed the papers to allow him into the Navy.
Some nice comments on this web page; have a look.

Sailor's Outfit as School Uniform in Japan

Japan introduced school uniforms in the late 19th century. Today, school uniforms are almost universal in the Japanese public and private school systems. They are also used in some women's colleges. The Japanese word for this type of uniform is seifuku (制服).

Girls' uniforms might include a gray pleated skirt and white blouse. Occasionally the sailor outfit is used for girls. The uniform codes may vary by season to work with the environment and occasion. It is common for both boys and girls to wear brightly colored caps to prevent traffic accidents. Also, it is normal for uniforms to be worn outside of school areas.