The best Breton shirts to nail nautical summer style
A French classic, the Breton shirt oozes effortless summer style. Here are the designs bringing something new to blue and white stripes this summer
From Pablo Picasso and James Dean to Mick Jagger and Paul Newman, some of the most stylish men in history have sported a Breton shirt. Originally invented in the 19th century as an undershirt for sailors in the French navy, the first Breton shirts (or marinière, as they're called in their homeland) featured 21 stripes, each a proud tribute to one of Napoleon’s victories.
Today, it's a wardrobe staple that can provide an instant hit of summer to any outfit. Thanks, in no small part, to the ripped sailors of many a Jean Paul Gaultier fragrance campaign, it comes with an immense air of chic in its most traditional forms. But that's not to say the Breton tee is immune to an update, with designers such as JW Anderson and Greg Lauren putting their own contemporary spins on the piece.
Although easily styled with black jeans, the Breton shirt works all the better when amped up to its full Frenchy potential with navy chinos, boat shoes and a sweater draped over the shoulders. Feeling it? Of course you are. Here, we've pulled together an edit of the very best Breton shirts you can wear this summer, whether you've sights on the French Riviera or a seaside closer to home.
1/10Ami
Who better to nail the French style staple than the purveyor of all things Parisian, Alexandre Mattiussi. Ami's signature bright red Ami De Coeur logo is just the thing to bring this long-sleeved, heavyweight Breton tee alive. We'd suggest running with its distinguished sense of chic, tucked into cropped chinos and with a stand-out woven belt. £125. amiparis.com
2/10Cos
Keeping things simple for summer, this Cos tee is sure to become a go-to for all your warm-weather endeavours. There's no end to the styling opportunities this T-shirt affords, be that layered under an overshirt or worn alone with chino shorts and loafers. £19. cosstores.com
3/10Comme Des Garçons Play
The brighter blue stripes of this Comme Des Garçons Play tee make for an altogether more playful take on the Breton shirt. Adding to that feeling is the Japanese label's signature bug-eyed heart appliqué – an instantly recognisable emblem that doesn't just up the fun factor, it gives this long-sleeve some serious clout too. £104. At End. endclothing.com
4/10Officine Générale
A brand every discerning gentleman should know well, it's no surprise that Officine Générale's take on the Breton shirt is a decidedly smarter take, given its penchant for sleek and chic tailoring. The slightly washed-out colouring of its navy and white stripes lends it a timeless feel that will look especially good layered beneath an unstructured blazer, in place of a white shirt. £140. At matchesfashion.com
5/10Sunspel
When it comes to low-key, quality tees, it really doesn't get better than Sunspel. A hundred years in the game has given the brand a knack for making even the simplest designs look suave and expensive. Case in point, this long-sleeve Breton top: minimal as ever and made from a quality, supersoft long-staple cotton jersey that'll serve you well for many summers to come. £75. At mrporter.com
6/10Gucci
Gucci's ongoing partnership with Disney is the fashion collaboration that keeps on giving. Eschewing signature house tropes such as interlocking Gs, green and red webbing stripes or horse-bit hardware for a Donald Duck motif to the chest, the house has really amped up the existing nautical feel of a Breton tee with Disney's most iconic sailor. £400. gucci.com
7/10Arket
If you don't own at least one of Arket's signature heavyweight T-shirts, we feel for you, man. Ask any GQ editor and they'll tell you they have at least half a dozen on rotation to form the base of pretty much any outfit (especially in white). Outside of its block colour incarnations, Breton stripes on that 220 GSM cotton make it the perfect final-layer garment on a summer's eve. £25. arket.com
8/10JW Anderson
Jonathan Anderson has never been one to shy away from nautical design inspiration – the logo of his namesake brand turns a J into an anchor, after all. For this take on the Breton shirt, that same logo is blown up on the chest and distorted into two for a stand-out detail that sets it far apart from the traditional horizontal blueprint. We are very much on board. £195. At mrporter.com
9/10Reiss
Most of the Breton tees in our edit employ a traditional white base colour with slim navy stripes. Reiss has flipped the colour palette with its Harvey T-shirt for something that's better suited to casual evening ’fits. In mercerised cotton, it's especially lightweight, so will keep you cool in more ways than pure aesthetics. £55. reiss.com
10/10Greg Lauren
Greg Lauren – nephew to Ralph – is the king of deconstruction. Signature pieces tend to come in overtly utilitarian forms: think blazers customised with raw denim patches. With this tee, he's used several different types of horizontal stripe for the Frankenstein's monster of Breton T-shirts and the result is far from Gothic tragedy. We must have it. £315. At matchesfashion.com
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