Must Have: The Sailor-Striped Tee!

In Coco before Chanel, Audrey Tatou played the precocious couturier-in-the-making, passionately constructing and deconstructing the fashions of the times. Just back from a seaside jaunt in Normandy where her eye was drawn to the simple graphics of a fisherman's striped sweater (photo: top middle), with typical Coco flair, she made fashion history by daring to wear it paired with men's trousers. Coco started a revolution—applying menswear themes to women's fashion—and liberated the female form. This paved the way for classic women's sportswear today. That's where I got the visual cue to pull out my fave striped tee and put it back in circulation. Over the past 10 years, I've had various incarnations of the wardrobe classic: navy ground with white stripes, white ground with navy stripes, and a myriad of candy-coloured stripes on white grounds. And here today, I think the striped tee will be in sharp focus under trenches and blazers, with mismatched prints, tucked into menswear-styled trousers, and worn over leather leggings. Take a tip from Parisians, the striped tee is always in vogue. To get you started, here are some top picks to buy right now.