Because you can't have depths without surfaces.
Linda Grant, thinking about clothes, books and other matters.
Pure Collection Ltd.
Net-a-porter UK

Tuesday 6 May 2008

The great unstriped


Every single year the fashion pages tell us that this year the big story is nautical chic, and every single year it isn't in the shops and no-one is wearing it.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I find it hilarious that the same old stuff gets touted out year on year - if it's spring then it must be nautical and florals, if it's summer then it must be safari and ethnic. Unlike Linda I have seen some clothes that pick up on the nautical trend but I won't be buying them. Can we bury this trend once and for all - red, white and navy is not chic but is a frumpy colour combination that makes you look like an air hostess.

Anonymous said...

Having now looked at the article I see that this is a more casual version of the nautical look. So it's merely frumpy rather than the air hostess look.

And another thing - one of the dresses shown (stripey blue number - very nautical) is by Chanel and costs £4,770. Can anyone come up with a more ludicrously overpriced piece of clothing?

Anonymous said...

The fashion pages see one damn stripe and instantly label it "Nautical Chic" every-time. There is NO SUCH THING as Nautical Chic and we all know it!

Elizabeth said...

Well-said.

Anonymous said...

Those poor magazine writers! What's an editor to do? The same thing as last year.

Kelly said...

Hmmm. I actually think I've seen quite a bit of "nautical" things. I see stripes and cords a lot. I'm in the US, though.

Anonymous said...

I agree wholeheartedly with fiona. The nautical look is one of the least seductive looks around. The ONLY time to wear stripes is on holiday in Brittany where a striped Breton sweatshirt can look great with white jeans and a tan and shield you from Atlantic winds.

When I was studying fashion many years ago at university, my fashion history tutor pointed out that throughout history stripes and spots tend to reappear on the cusp of design trends. I think it is safe to say that we are on one those cusps this year as we wave goodbye to 1970s revival and adjust ourselves to the 1980s revival.

By next year low slung trousers, bare bellys and hair straighteners will all be a thing of the past, thank heavens, and we can settle down to the new design trend and wave goodbye to nautical for another few years.

Gauss said...

"flattering, ageless and easy to wear" says the article. Yeah, right.

Miss Cavendish said...

A little stripe goes a long, long way, lest the wearer start looking "cute."

About the only nautical look I can stand is a subversive one: Catherine in Hemingway's Garden of Eden who crops off her hair, dyes it platinum, tans her skin, wears a blue sailor's shirt, and calls herself a boy.

Kai Jones said...

Hmm. In the plus size departments here, it's polka dots rather than stripes.

Anonymous said...

Living in Hamburg the "Nautical Trend" is sort of an eternal fashion thing - oh so understated in blue, stripes, white and occasionally beige if you're feeling adventurous.
If I had to think about it, I couldn't decide what I dislike more - the eternal nautical thing or the neverending 80s revival. I want both to go.

Gi said...

I am avoiding BOTH eighties and nautical look.

I wore a strapless gray dress tailored like men's trousers from Club Monaco and purple suede YSL tribute mary janes today instead.

Like honestly, who wants fattening blue and white stripes across the torso?

Anonymous said...

Beige stripes in hamburg.. Yea gads the mind boggles....

indigo16 said...

I agree that the best place for stripes is the Cornish/Breton coast, but I confess to a sneaky liking of the stripey T shirt.

Anonymous said...

Every spring I get my natty nautical blue and white striped t-shirt out of storage.... Every year it sits in the cupboard, unworn, until it is winter again.

I can throw away every other item of clothing I haven't worn in the past 2 years. So why can't I give this one up??

(PS Please don't tell me to move to Hamburg....)

woodscolt said...

I have a theory that the reason they bring in the nautical trend every year is that it gives the fashion editors and models a nice jaunt to the seaside for the photo shoot... the glammer the better obviously.

Anonymous said...

I love using snippets of nautical (no anchors, please!) in the summer.

This young woman has a very sweet take on a timeless seaside look. (The Sartorialist blog. south of France)

http://bp3.blogger.com/_qjpwnPW4c1o/SBgj8oTnXiI/AAAAAAAADU0/gt4dHlcqjYI/s1600-h/30BeachSoccerweb.jpg

-- desertwind

Robo said...

The nautical is quite overhyped, I agree. However some elements here and there are fun, like white shoes or a stripey scarf. But seriously, fashion mag editors, give us something new next summer. We've seen the tribal/ethnic, safari, florals, and nauticals for years now. I do give them credit for showing the painter-y stuff this season, though.

Disneyrollergirl.net said...

Oh yes this trend-recycling drives me crackers too. Florals, nautical and safari are CLASSICS! Anything that could conceivably be seen in a Ralph Lauren collection is a classic so shall we add tartan, velvet, denim, 'Hollywood glamour', military...YAWN! It's all so predictable. I have to say though, I have nothing against a natty nautical striped Breton, I have several, just don't tell me it's a trend. And please don't dredge up that awful head 'Nautical But Nice'!