Stripes.
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| Detail from CdG Fall 2013/14 collection |
Who would have thought there was such a deep and fascinating history concerning stripes!
In the medieval era, a person didn't wear the clothes that he/she just liked to wear. A person wore the clothes that expressed what group he/she belonged to.
Stripes were often used on the garments of those who were considered to be outcasts, loose members of society, even entertainers, musicians and the like.
From as early as the 11th century, images in the western world often presented a "dubious character" in striped clothing.
Why?
Authoritative christian leaders believed they found justification in the scriptures..surprise, surprise!
Leviticus 19.19
You shall keep my statutes. You shall not let your animals breed with a different kind; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed; nor shall you put on a garment made of two different materials.(The Catholic Youth Bible)
Two materials, and depending on the Latin words that were actually used, could also be interpreted as two colours... stripes.
In 1254 Louis IX returned to Paris after what he no doubt considered a very successful crusade. He brought back with him some brothers of the Carmelite Order.
The Carmelites originated in the 12th Century, when a number of 'holy hermits' established themselves near Mt. Carmel in Palestine.
Although the colour of their habit cannot be agreed upon, the design is well accepted to be striped.
On arriving In Paris wearing their striped cloaks, the Carmelites became the victims of mockery and abuse. "Les freres barres" (The barred brothers) was particularly offensive as 'barres' in old French also referred to illegitimacy. (There should be a grave over the 1st e in freres)
In 1260 Pope Alexander IV ordered the Carmelite monks to abandon their striped cloaks for plain ones, an order the Carmelites did not appreciate and fought against. However, in 1287 they eventually capitulated and removed their striped cloaks.
Apart from Leviticus 19.19, what else was considered so unbearable regard a striped cloak? Some think it could have been seen as being too much like a Muslim cloak, a striped djellaba such as those seen in the back streets of Islamic countries.
This was probably not an endearing aspect of a garment, seeing as it was the time of those intensive crusades in the Holy Land, where the western world was trying to drive out what it considered an enemy of the Roman Catholic church.
In 1295 Pope Boniface VII declared a total ban against the wearing of striped habits (vestes virgatae) for monks of all religious orders.In later history, regulations were established in lay society, which required that certain categories of reprobates and outcasts should wear 2-coloured or striped clothes. The underlying idea was that striped clothing acted as a visual sign for people not to confuse 'the lesser' with 'the greater', a sort of segregation based on dress. Being so eye catching a pattern, stripes became society's immediate sign of a person's transgression against the social order.
Renaissance artist Paolo Veronese (1528 - 1588) often portrayed black people wearing striped clothing, such as in his 'Adoration of the Magi'
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| Detail from 'The Feast in the House of Levi' |
or he painted the character beside a black man in a striped garment.
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| Detail from 'The Feast in the House of Levi'. |
I walk past this statue every working day. It has a number issues, now I'm aware of the striped shorts one!
Striped clothing was also used to emphasize those who worked in what was considered an inferior occupation, like the domestic staff in a Lord's manor....
and musicians and entertainers.
From the beginning of the 1400s to mid 1500s the trend in domestic stripes had reached its height. Both male and female servants were often dressed in striped blouses, dresses and aprons.
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| La Recureuse by Andre Bouys, 1737 |
The striped vest/waistcoat of valets or footmen became prevalent during the Victorian era..
This striped waistcoat may be outdated today, but it will often pop up in films, cartoons and comic strips, with one of the most famous characters to wear one being...
In the latter part of the American Revolution (1765 -1783), the stripe began to invade clothing, textiles, and decor. It was seen as romantic and revolutionary, coming out of the New World. (This helped to encourage a decline in a stripe's 'contemptible' nature, but it didn't disappear completely.)
The New World's first flag.
The popular story is that Betsy Ross, a seamstress, made the first American flag. The 13 stripes (7 red ones and 6 white ones) represent the original 13 colonies. The white stars in a blue field represent a new constellation. The colours are also symbolic: red for hardiness and valor; white for purity and innocence; blue for vigilance, perseverance and justice.
The 13 colonies, which rebelled against the British crown were viewed as an image of Liberty, and a symbol of new ideas. This was inspirational for Americanophiles in France and the
other countries hostile to England at the end of 1770s.
So, the wearing of stripes became a proclamation of anglophobia, a support of the movement for freedom and a good ol' fashion statement.
The French Revolution (1789 -1799) really took stripes on board.
Robespierre was renown for his striped coat. (Do you think he wore it, when it came time for him to mount the steps to La Guillotine'?)
And 'vive la revolution', all out in striped trousers and skirts. (There should be an acute above the e in revolution)
This link will take you to an interesting exhibition, 'Reigning Men: Fashion in Menswear 1715-2015', curated in 2016 in the LA County Museum of Art. Many of the exhibits appear to be authentic garments, which is rather cool, and there are lots of stripes.
I like how these French Revolution clothes are displayed.
It inspires me to my own striped response...
Even though the stripe had become a strong aspect of fashionable clothing, the 'bad' aspect did not disappear .
Where it became strongly expressed, was in prisoners uniforms. A uniform of wide and well contrasted stripes, usually in black and white.
The rational of the striped uniform for prisoners? It is easier identification for spotting a fleeing con!
The history of prisoner/convict striped costumes is thought to come from America, the penal colonies of the New World, such as Maryland, Pennsylvania, during the 18th century.
In the early 19th century a striped uniform for prisoners begins to be seen in some English and German prisons.
Apparently French penal colonies dressed their convicts in a red tabard rather than striped ones. Although the 1973 film Papillon, set within the penal system in French Guiana,dressed Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman in stripes, red and white ones.
I wore this the other day, and told E "it's my Alcatraz look"....
Again, cartoons/comic strips look to the striped uniform when portraying incarcerated baddies
and film
A diabolical example of the use of stripes is in the uniforms imposed on the people imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps.
Upon arrival in a Nazi concentration camp, prisoners were usually issued with a uniform consisting of a striped jacket and striped pants.
In 1995, Comme des Garcons Homme collection 'Sleep' proved to be very controversial. It consisted of an assortment of striped pyjamas worn with sweaters, jackets and bathroom coats. RK was aiming to revive lounge wear, which was once a major aspect of a 'gentleman's wardrobe'. Some critics saw the striped pyjamas and the stenciling of numbers on the jackets as a reminder of uniforms worn in Nazi death camps. It may not have helped that the date assigned for the show was the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Kawakubo denied an intentional reference to the Holocaust and withdrew the pyjamas from the collection, although I have also read she withdrew the whole collection from sale. Unsure which is fact.
Zara, number of years ago now, presented this design, which was to be a Wild West-inspired t-shirt for toddlers. The 6 pointed star with 'Sheriff' printed across it was reminiscent of the yellow Star of David the Jewish people were forced to wear, and the stripe reflected those of the concentration camp uniforms. Zara removed the item from sale.
Spanish brand, Loewe received criticism when it launched these garments as part of its William De Morgan capsule collection, 2019 I think.
I think you can understand why the critics compared this ensemble to the uniforms worn by prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. Loewe did apologise for the items and withdrew them from sale, a sale of $1,840.00, US dollars I guess.
It is difficult to accurately determine where and when striped clothing appeared among sailors and seafarers.
In the mid 1600s some English and Dutch paintings representing naval battles, begin to show sailors wearing striped tunics in colours red and white or blue and white.
These are the closest I can get to images to share
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| Dutch sailor |
but there's always this one of sailors in their striped attire....Tin Tin's 'The Secret of the Unicorn'
This uniform tallies with illustrations in the Larousse encyclopaedia, except that the bonnets are red and the trousers have blue stripes, as seen below, in a cropped detail from the above mentioned publication.
Apparently the illustrations in the Larousse encyclopaedia appeared several years after the publication of Herge's strip cartoon, indicating that Herge derived his information from another source.
Another image from Larousse, presenting a seafarer dressed in striped clothing. (There's definitely an air of 'Us and him' in this image)
In 1858 the Breton top was introduced as the uniform for the French navy seamen that were based in Brittany,in Northern France.
The original design consisted of 13 stripes, apparently one for each of Napoleon Bonaparte's victories. A functional attribute regard the stripe was it supposedly being easier to spot a sailor who had gone overboard, plus its boat neck allowed sailors to dress quickly.
After a holiday in the south of France, Coco Chanel was so inspired by the Breton top, she added the stripes into her 1917 nautical collection.
And the look really took off!
I've just remembered, I had one when I was young, but I called it a 'pirate shirt', and it was red and black.
Rei Kawakubo is fond of this Breton top style/ striped t-shirt, especially in her CdG Play label.
And of course, Jean Paul Gaultier. He loved the Breton top. I think he may have called it Marinere. In his L'Homme-objet 1984 Spring/Summer collection, it was a major feature. (There is a grave over the 1st e in Marinere)
Much of Gaultier's inspiration for this collection came from the 1983 Fassbinder film, 'Querelle'. This erotically-charged story of a French sailor is an intense exploration in homosexuality and criminality.
Want to go down a few rabbit holes concerning Querelle, take this link, lots of information to pursue.
Gaultier maintained his love of mariniere throughout his career, and presented wonderful iterations in his Spring 2019 collection
This is a great link to a major exhibition of Gaultier's work, if you wish to see more of his designs.
Pastoureau talked about the stripes of the clown and public entertainers as being cheerful, and it is not by chance that Obelix, Asteix's comic companion wears huge, vertically striped blue and white trouser.
Other clowns I've been into lately...
Fellini's 81/2
and La Strada
Pastoureau also discussed the athletic aspect of stripes. Adidas didn't just choose 3 stripes by coincidence. Stripes have an energy, a movement, and the 3 stripes reflect that idea of speed and athletic performance.
Interesting historical information link re the company if you would to know more.
Another strong athletic aspect of the stripe is it being seen from a distance, hence a good way to signal a sporting team. One kind of stripe as opposed to another kind locates the team you are a part of.
Rugby often used to refer to striped shirts as hooped shirts, not sure if they still do.
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| Les Joyeurs de Football, Henri Rousseau |
Although called 'The Football Players', it appears more a game of rugby, a sport which had become popular in France at the end of the 1800s. Wonderful striped kits. Rousseau painted this is 1908.
Rei Kawakubo will do stripes in her CdG RTW collections, maybe not as much as plaids and dots, but we see them in the Fall 2013 "Infinity of tailoring" collection. Some glorious suited garments, but these are the only two I can download.
I did find these amazing striped suits, from the Spring 1995 "Transcending Gender" collection. That's going back. I love these, as they are so, inside-out, twisted-back-to-front, very RK, very avant-garde for the year they were designed.
Here is a fabulous CdG striped dress. I love how they have worked with the grain of the stripe, cf & cb seams creating chevron effect, but look at the back and there is an insert panel, which probably is a dart feature, that off sets the stripe a little, it is also sewn down into the side area.
A number of years ago I created this CdG inspired t-top, probably got the fabric out of the cut-offs bin at Centrpointe Fabrics (are they still in business?) As you can see there is a seam down F & B, and the stripes are off set i.e. not matching. Very CdG. That factor alone would drive some "purists" crazy! Not me anymore. (I had to inset the black to get the required length I needed in the sleeve.)
CdG is good at playing with the stripes in a t-shirt
Might be, same colour, different stripe sizes
or, 3 different coloured stripes.
At the beginning of the year I worked with this striped fabric,
and constructed a skirt. It has an apron type front section, made from panels cut along different grainlines.
I also came up with a matching wee top, using left over fabric, recycled ribbon (from a previous garment), and a short piece of white fabric just right for the job!
You can see the way the grainlines are cut in this shot.
I loved the red and white striped dress Cybill Shepherd's character wore in Taxi Driver.
It set me off to create my own
I love this 1950s one,
and the one Jean Seberg changed into during 'Breathless'.
According to Pastoureau, it's the presence of white in the stripe, which confers a quality of freshness. He writes about how the sellers of perishable goods, e.g. dairy, fish sellers, butchers, often had striped awnings or display windows.
Just one final interesting point (well, for me anyway), I am going to make concerning Pastoureau's book is his reference to Alfred Hitchcock's 1945 film 'Spellbound'. The film is right into psychoanalysis, a man has an unusual phobia of parallel lines against a white background...sounds like stripes. Hitchcock plays with images of shadow and light through blinds, grills, rungs, marks on a ski trail and even a fork dragging across a napkin, which reflect stripes
I did come across this film, which is well worth a view 'Who Are You Polly Maggoo?', a 1966 French film directed by William Klein. It's a great spoof of the fashion world and its excesses. This is a cool stripe still from it.
Here's a section worth viewing. Had trouble posting it in video form, so you'll have to go via this link, not necessarily involving stripes, but the material used is fascinating, none the less.
Simon Porte Jacquesmus worked with bold stripes in his SS 2015 collection.
She inspired me to get my one out. I must wear this a bit more.
"Right Smiley looks taller & thinner. Thinner stripes better."
"Right Smiley looks longer & leaner."
"Thinner & narrower stripes give the illusion of thinner. Mix of colours makes the illusion even better."
"Diagonal stripes more flattering than horizontal & with mix of colour, even better."
https://livingthelifeyouchoose.blogspot.com/2015/05/do-stripes-make-you-look-fat.html
I think I'll put my 'Stripes' blog to bed with this painting
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| The Sleeping Gypsy, Henri Rousseau, 1897. |
Take care everyone.
SLTSLTBsigning off.
