Fashion always rotates what’s trending from one season to the next, but this summer sees a very literal pivot. The classic horizontal stripe – the basis of your summertime no-brainer, the Breton top – is rotating through 90 degrees: vertical stripes are in. Dissecting everything from bomber jackets to shorts to pinstripe suits, this slimming and versatile pattern is easy to dress up or down, switching between boardroom stiffness, breezy Riviera cool and football-terrace attitude depending on how you style them.
The easiest way to wear the trend is with a vertical stripe shirt, channelling Armie Hammer’s preppy wardrobe in Call Me By Your Name. A lightweight, linen or cotton option with rolled up sleeves over a tee and chino shorts sets a great balance of collegiate cool and relaxed seaside style.
As well as giving you a point of difference from the Breton Brigade (a look that’s been all but usurped by school-run mums), a vertical stripe shirt also makes you appear taller and more like there’s a swimwear model’s body hiding underneath.
This type of shirt has become a mainstay of summer wardrobes in the last few years, and the addition of a wide stripe offers some fifties glamour. Buttoned up and tucked in looks preppy and finished but the ideal way to wear this is open with a crisp white T-shirt underneath.
Shirt : Mr. Button Via Koovs
Trouser : H&M
