Breton tops- ubiquitous?

[PollyPerky]

Why? This year every single shop has them- talking mid market- Boden, Joules, White Stuff, even Jigsaw.

I mean they're ok and I have a few but how long before we're ditching them and they will be passe?

[HeyMacWey]

I ditched them last year and I'm normally behind the times

[daimbardiva]

I don't think they'll ever be ditched. They're classic and there's a reason. I love a Breton!

[ephemeralfairy]

Fine line between 'classic, everyone should have one' and 'ubiquitous, everyone does have one'. Bretons are just starting to cross that line imo!

[PollyPerky]

But I don't think they ARE classic really. In all my 50+ years this is the first time they have ever really been in fashion. Yes, stripy knits in navy and white have always been around, but now there is a uniform of skinny jeans, breton top, scarf and whatever.

[Starman16]

I'm am self-confessed Breton addict BUT there are strict rules to keep it within the bounds of 'classic': colours should be blue, cream, white, black or red (yellow or green at a push), regular width of stripes, thick jersey not flimsy regular t-shirt material and slash neck and boxy style like the traditional fishermans tops.

Neon and multi-coloured a la Joules is just no.

[WellErrr]

Well I've been wearing them for years and I don't intend to stop any time soon!

I love it when they're in fashion as they're easy to find

[WellErrr]

My favourite is navy and white stripes with dark red/wine skinny jeans

[emsyj]

I love stripy tops and always have. My wardrobe is stuffed to the gills with them and I will be wearing them forever til I die. Couldn't care less if the fashion set think they're "passe" - they are my favourite clothing item in the world. Wearing one now!! Navy with thin white stripe and white tape edging at the bottom and on left shoulder.

[Starman16]

OP do a google image search of 'Audrey Hepburn Breton' to see just how classic are...

[nextchapterplease]

I love a stripy - if I didn't give myself a talking to frequently about whether I need another one I would possibly have a wardrobe full of them!
Mind you I am more careful since the day we went to the park as a family and all 4 of us were wearing striped tops that I had bought !
I am a walking cliche !

[MamaLazarou]

I can't say I have ever noticed anyone wearing one. I think it's just probably just one of those things that blends in with the background.

[MissBattleaxe]

I love a Breton. They can stay as far as I'm concerned. You could call them a safe bet and that's fine by me! .

[Pigeonpost]

LOVE them. Don't care if they are passe. They are my wardrobe staple.

[PollyPerky]

Starman yes AH did wear them but that was in the 50s and in France I think. They've never really taken off in the UK in the way they are peddled now.

[botemp]

Every spring shops and magazines desperately try to convince us we should be walking around like we're permanently near a large body of water in red, white, and blue. Bretons, navy blazers (with or without golden buttons), white pants, etc. are retail staples that continue to sell well each year so are consistently brought back. I do like a Breton but tend to wear them when it isn't spring and prefer them with a slightly thinner stripe.

[WellErrr]

I disagree that they've never been in fashion here before!

[PollyPerky]

Tell me when Well? I was born in the 1950s and can never recall anyone (my mum etc) wearing them. You could always get a Bretonny-type T shirt but they were never in every shop in every colour. never.

[cardoon]

I have had at least one in my wardrobe since the 70's

[WellErrr]

I was born in the 80s and I remember people wearing them regularly.

[AnnPerkins]

I like them but can't find one in the town where I work. Typically, Next don't stock them

I've resorted to a size 8 black and white one from New Look. I'm a size 12.

I really want some wine skinny jeans too. But what shoes does one wear with them? Boring ballet shoes again?

[JemimaMuddledUp]

I love Bretons. Yes they are everywhere, but I don't think it is a new thing, I still have a couple of Boden ones that I bought when DS1 was a baby - he is almost 14.

[AstrantiaMallow]

OP
Coco Chanel wore one in the 1910s and then again as PP said Audrey Hepburn. French Nouvelle Vague actresses also wore them in the 1960s. All really stylishly. Google Bardot, Le Mépris.

Retailers have picked on that trend and cheapened it, that's all. Like most things in fashion.

Chosen with care and worn right they (or their reinterpretation, provided it's not neon pink maybe) can look stylish.

[thecatfromjapan]

It would be quite ironic if the Joules neon stripe, and the ubiquity, managed to kill a style staple that Chanel set her imprimatur on.

We'd be able to tell our children that we witnessed its end.

[thecatfromjapan]

There could be a book: 'The Breton: A century in style.'

Actually, I think it'll just go quiet after the high-water mark, fewer retailers will sell it, in fewer varieties.

Can't imagine it will wholly disappear. I remember how hard it was to get the ' perfect Breton' (for a BB look) when I was in my 20s. I really like stripes, so I'm stocking up in these years of plenty so that I have stores of stripes for the fallow years to come.

[Larastheme]

Bretons were never out of style, I was a teen in the 90s and remember them being popular , even with the grunge crowd, kurt cobain used to wear one

I love them and wear them regularly, there is more to Breton than the nautical theme,if dressed with classic trench coat like a burberry one, or worn with utility jacket or with flannel shirt and leather skirt or leather trousers, even with a tweed jacket like Chanel , it can transform an outfit.

My favourite are A.P.C, pricy but worth it, the cut and the fabric are the best,