A glorious celebration of the perennial nautical style, tracing the history of its trends and impact on the clothes we love. From Chanel’s coastal couture and Jean Paul Gaultier’s beefcake camp to Tommy Hilfiger’s preppy classics, this is the first and only book to celebrate nautical fashion and the ways in which it has cut a sartorial swathe for over two centuries. Amber Jane Butchart charts the rise and rise of the nautical influence on fashion over five chapters, each one devoted to an iconic maritime figure. While “The Sailor” explores the undeniable sex appeal of the sailor and “The Sportsman” covers the classic All-American Look, “The Officer” shows how epaulettes, brass buttons and braiding came to be catwalk staples. “The Fisherman” charts how blue-and-white stripes became the choice of style arbiters as diverse as Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Andy Warhol. “The Pirate” concludes the book by tying together Captain Hook, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. With evocative imagery of life on the ocean waves, “Nautical Chic” is the definitive history of high style on the high seas.
