Our cashmere cotton breton stripe sweater is a great piece for spring summer. With the warm weather usually requiring one to wear fewer layers, it can be difficult to add interest to an outfit. The breton stripe is therefore a great option - in a light, fresh stripe, it evokes the elegance of holiday wear in the French Riviera but without looking gaudy. It’s also sufficiently light and breathable, being in a blend of cotton and cashmere, as opposed to pure cashmere.
The breton stripe sweater was pioneered by the French navy in the 19th century. It was designed to be durable and for ease of identification if someone fell overboard. Traditionally made in a tough cotton fabric to see you through naval battles, our version is inspired by the original design but in a luxury fabric. Retaining the sportiness of the cotton, we blended in 47% cashmere to give it a wonderfully soft hand feel.
Available in a light summery, traditional pattern - ecru and navy, or if you prefer, a more muted version dark olive/navy. Both are equally versatile.
See below for some styling tips.
The dark olive and navy colour is perfect for those who prefer darker and more muted colours but still wish to add interest to their outfit. It goes just as well with light colour chinos, dark jeans and grey trousers:
Try it with a classic navy blazer and cream trousers for a smart casual look:
You could also go casual with it and pair with our navy tennis cardigan instead:
The dark olive and navy goes well with black, so you may find it works well with a black leather jacket or blazer:
For the ecru and navy colourway, the breton stripe also works particularly well with light coloured chinos, dark jeans, and light grey trousers (try it with a pair of wool fresco in the summer).
Also a great choice when the weather warms up to wear it with a pair of navy shorts.
Given the ecru and navy colour combinations, to style this easily, you can focus on other items of clothing that within the cream/white and navy/blue palettes.
For example, you can use it as an under layer and wear a chambray shirt (blue) over the top.
To further layer the outfit and to keep to the blue theme, you can then finish the look with a navy blazer, the navy goes well with the blue chambray shirt and the navy stripe on the breton stripe sweater.
To dress more casually, you can swap out the blazer for our navy tennis cardigan.
Or try wearing a light piece of outwear in white or cream over the top, to go with the ecru stripe, like so:
When the weather gets colder later in the year, you can also wear it with our superfine lambswool shawl collar cardigan in navy:
