Loading... Please wait...A military ruling in 1858 introduced the striped tee to the official wardrobe of quartermasters and sailors in the French Navy with its very specific characteristics: 21 white stripes measuring 20mm and 20 or 21 blue stripes measuring 10mm. The 20th century brought this nautical motif into the mainstream. Sailors in the Merchant Navy as well as fishermen and the boating community brought it onboard and it wasn’t long before it became a fashion must-have picked up by creatives and intellectuals (think Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso). Ever since then, celebrities and fashion designers have turned it into a symbol of vintage French fashion – universal and timeless.