I own 9 striped tops.
I counted them last weekend while I was switching my closet over for fall, and honestly I was a little embarrassed.
Nine.
Some of them are almost the same shirt (two of them actually are the same shirt, in two sizes, and no, I can’t explain that).
But they’re the only tops I never have to think about.
I lay one out the night before, grab whatever jeans are clean in the morning, and I’m done getting ready before my coffee is.
The one in the photo up top is the classic.
A white long sleeve with thin navy stripes, high-waisted dark jeans and a camel trench sliding off one shoulder.
If you only buy one striped top this fall, make it that one.
Not sure what colors to put next to navy and white? The free outfit color matcher shows what goes with what before you get dressed.
I’m not a stylist, just someone who gets dressed in front of the bathroom mirror like everybody else.
So here’s where the stripe came from (it’s a better story than you’d think), and then the seven ways I actually wear mine from October to March.
Where the Breton Stripe Comes From
The striped top started out as a uniform.
On March 27, 1858, a French regulation made the blue-and-white striped knit part of the official uniform for the navy’s seamen.
And the rules were strict.
A genuine one has 20 navy stripes on the front and back, each 10 mm wide, with 20 mm of white between them.
The sleeves get 14 stripes, spaced the same way.
It’s called a Breton top because so many of those sailors came from Brittany, on the northwest coast of France.
In French it’s a marinière.
You’ll hear two stories about why the stripes are there.
Sailors used to say they made a man who fell overboard easier to spot in the water.
There’s also a legend that each of the 21 white stripes in the old rule stands for one of Napoleon’s victories.
Nobody can prove either one.
I like the first story better.
Then fashion took it off the boat.
During World War I, Coco Chanel spent her holidays by the sea, got hooked on the sailors’ uniforms and sold her own short version at her shop in Deauville.
Jean Seberg wore a striped top in Breathless.
In 1983, Jean Paul Gaultier made it the center of a whole collection.
So when you pull one on, you’re wearing an idea that’s almost 170 years old.
That’s why it never looks dated.
It was never trendy in the first place.
It was just useful, and it still is.
1. A Breton Top, Straight Jeans and a Trench Coat
This is the outfit from the top of the post, and it’s the one I wear most, probably 2 or 3 times a week once October hits.
The whole trick is the tuck.
Tuck just the front of the top into high-waisted jeans and leave the back loose, like in this photo.
A thin belt helps (mine is about 1 inch wide, plain brown leather, older than some of my friendships).
It shows your waist under a long coat, so the trench doesn’t swallow you.
Thin stripes are the easiest kind to wear here.
From across the room they read almost like a texture, so they go with pretty much any coat you already own.
Camel is my favorite, but a navy peacoat works too.
For shoes I go with loafers or white sneakers.
Heels feel a little too serious next to a sailor top.
If I want to dress it up for dinner, I switch the sneakers for pointed flats and add red lipstick.
Done.
Out the door in 10 minutes.
The same rules work with a blazer instead of a trench, and I wrote up my favorite blazer and jeans combinations if you want to try it that way.
2. A Wide-Stripe Sweater and Black Jeans
Once the mornings drop under about 50°F, I trade the thin cotton for a knit with fat stripes.
Wide stripes are louder, so keep everything else quiet.
Black jeans or black pants, one pair of big earrings, sunglasses if it’s bright out.
That’s it.
See the buttons on her cuffs?
A little detail like that is all a wide stripe needs.
Dropped shoulders, where the seam sits down on your upper arm, make a thick sweater look relaxed instead of boxy.
If you’re petite and it swallows you, push the sleeves up so your wrists show.
It makes a big difference in the photos.
One thing I learned the hard way: black and cream stripes show lint like crazy.
I keep a lint roller by the front door now, right next to my keys.
And please don’t hang a heavy knit.
I did that with a $40 sweater my first winter in my own apartment, and after about 3 weeks on a hanger the shoulders had two little points sticking up like it was wearing its own shoulder pads.
Fold it.
Lay it flat to dry after you wash it, on a towel, and pat the stripes straight while it’s still damp so they don’t dry wavy.
It takes 30 seconds and the sweater will look new for years.
Want more cold-weather knits?
I rounded up my knit sweater outfits for this time of year.
3. A Striped Button-Down With Cuffed Jeans
Vertical stripes are a different thing from Breton stripes, but they count.
They’re the ones I wear to work.
A navy shirt with white stripes looks crisp and grown-up.
Roll the sleeves twice (about 3 inches up from the wrist) so the lighter inside of the cuff shows, like she did here.
It looks a little undone in a good way.
Ripped jeans with a cuff at the ankle make it a weekend outfit.
Swap them for black trousers and loafers and it’s an office outfit.
Same shirt.
Two days covered.
Leave the top two buttons open so you get a small V at the neckline.
A thin gold chain looks better there than a big statement necklace, which just fights with the stripes.
If you like this one, my post on ways to wear a white shirt has more tucks and layers that work with any button-down, striped or not.
4. A Breton Knit and White Jeans
Yes, you can wear white after Labor Day.
Winter white is a real thing and it looks great with navy.
A cream knit with navy stripes and white wide-leg trousers might be the most French outfit I know.
It’s what I’d wear for a fall weekend by the water, coffee in hand, next to a stone sea wall like the one in this photo.
Two tips.
Pick white pants that are thick enough that you can’t see your pockets through them.
And keep the stripes navy, not black, so the whole outfit stays soft.
Round glasses and a low bun finish it.
I use 4 bobby pins and a little hairspray, and it holds all day even when the wind picks up.
5. Thin Stripes, Ripped Jeans and High-Top Sneakers
This is my errands outfit.
It’s what I put on when I want to look put together but really don’t want to try.
A slim long sleeve with thin black stripes, light ripped jeans and black-and-white high-tops.
Push the sleeves up to just under the elbow.
Throw a denim jacket over it when it’s chilly, or a trench when it rains.
It’s very casual, which is the point.
And it’s the one that holds up best in real life.
A look that only lasts for one photo is not a good look.
This one still looks fine at 6 p.m. after a whole day of errands and a long walk home.
6. A Loose Striped Henley for Slow Weekends
A henley is a collarless shirt with a short row of buttons at the neck.
In stripes, it’s the coziest thing on this list.
Get it oversized and soft, and leave the buttons open.
Wear it with leggings and a big cardigan on a Saturday morning, or tuck the front into jeans for a walk in the park.
The low afternoon sun in this photo is my favorite thing about fall, and cream and black stripes look so good in it.
No jewelry needed.
Maybe a fresh top coat on my nails so they’re not chipped, and that’s the whole routine.
7. Pack One Striped Shirt for a Fall City Trip
Stripes aren’t just for us.
Look at him in this photo: a blue and white striped button-down and jeans, in front of a big Gothic cathedral.
It’s easy, and it looks good in every vacation picture.
When I travel in the fall, a striped top is the first thing in my bag.
It goes with jeans, a black skirt and every jacket I own, so it turns 4 or 5 pieces into a week of outfits.
On my last trip I packed 1 striped top, 2 pairs of jeans, a black skirt and a trench, and I wore the stripes 3 times in 5 days.
Nobody noticed.
Or if they did, they were nice enough not to say anything.
Plan the whole week the night before you pack.
Then wear the stripes on the plane, so it’s one less thing in your suitcase.
Heading somewhere cold and busy?
My NYC fall outfits post has more ideas for a weekend in the city.
Which Striped Top for Which Day?
If you’re stuck in front of the closet, pick by the day you’re about to have.
One rule I always follow: one striped piece per outfit.
Look at her in the field.
A striped top, plain jeans, nothing else with a pattern.
That’s why it works.
Stripes with a floral or a leopard print can work if you’re brave.
Stripes with more stripes is really hard to pull off, and trust me, I have the photos to prove it.
Last thing, because a good striped top should last you years: wash it inside out on cold and skip the dryer.
Navy can bleed into the white in hot water, and once the white goes gray, it stays gray.
Ask me how I know.
And if you only buy one this year, get the classic thin navy stripe.
It’s been working since 1858, and it’ll keep working long after this season’s trends are gone.
