La Marinière - The Breton Shirt

Audrey Hepburn

La Marinière, also known as the Breton Shirt, is a must-have for any wardrobe. It is simple yet elegant and sophisticated, gracing both fashion runways and the racks of generic clothing stores, but the French icon had very modest beginnings. The contrasting blue and white striped design was first worn as cotton sweaters by the fishermen of the Breton coastline, hence the name. Not only woven tightly to combat the weather conditions out at sea, it was believed that the contrast of the colours made it easier to spot overboard men at sea. On the 27th of March 1858, the Breton Shirt was officiated as the uniform requirement of the French navy. The original design featured twenty-one stripes, one for each of Napoleon's victories.

However, it would be many years before the stripes would enter the fashion world. When walking along the beach in Deauville, Normandy, Coco Chanel saw many local sailors and fisherman wearing the Breton Shirt. Inspired by its purity of style, she adapted the shirt in her own designs of 1917, introducing carefree clothing that was inspired by menswear but tailored for women, freeing them from corsets and excessive decoration. Soon, la Marinière became very popular for both women and men. Synonymous with French chic, the design continues to be a staple look to this very day.

French sailors

Coco Chanel

Audrey Hepburn

Brigitte Bardot

Andy Warhol

James Dean

Kate Middleton

Miranda Kerr

Repetto

Repetto come in many variations of style and in numerous shades of colour

One can never go wrong with ballet flats. They have an ability to be worn with day-wear or evening-wear, dresses and skirts, pants and shorts, they can be casual or formal, dressed-up and dressed-down. 

It is believed that the ballet flat style has been in existence since at least the 16th Century, when it seems men had similar shoes named pompes. Ballet flats were popular with both men and women during the medieval times, but during the 17th and 18th Centuries, the fashion of the ballet flats were overshadowed by the high-heeled shoes; brought into vogue by the two inch heels of Catherine de' Medici's wedding shoes. However, for a time, heels also left the high-fashion scene when Marie Antoinette walked to the guillotine in high-heeled shoes. The appearance of both ballet flats and high-heels were somewhat quiet during the 19th Century; it wasn't until the 1950's that actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot popularised the ballet-flat style again.

Perhaps the most famous brand of ballet flats is the French brand Repetto. Rose Repetto founded the company in 1947 after her son Roland Petit, a dancer and choreographer, mentioned the difficulty he had in finding the perfect ballet shoes. Repetto developed their line in 1956, at the request of Brigitte Bardot, to also include la ballerine cendrillon; ballet-slipper styled shoes for street-wear.

The simplicity and the elegance of the ballet flat enhances and suits every figure and every height. Out of any shoe style, it is the ballet flat which I could never do without.

Rose Repetto

Rose Repetto with her son Roland Petit

Brigitte Bardot

Audrey Hepburn