In 1858, the French Navy issued a decree standardising the uniform of its sailors. The mariniere — a long sleeve striped shirt in white and navy — became the mark of every seaman on the water. Twenty stripes on the body, fourteen on the sleeves, a boat neck cut to sit beneath a smock. Practical, durable, unmistakable.

Saint James has been making them from Normandy since 1850. Founded in the village of Saint-James on the banks of the bay of Mont Saint-Michel, the company began by spinning wool from local salt marsh sheep for Breton fishermen working the North Atlantic. The mariniere followed, and has remained largely unchanged since. Same stripes, same fabric, same Normandy address.

Coco Chanel wore one on holiday in Deauville in 1913. Picasso wore one. Bardot wore one. The mariniere has never needed to try hard. It simply endures.

We carry Saint James because some things have already been figured out.