What is a “marinière” in French?
Vacances de Noël en Bretagne en français facile
A1 French listening practice · French from France · Curated for beginners
A “marinière” is the navy-and-white horizontally striped top everyone pictures as quintessentially French. The name comes from “marin,” sailor: it began as the knitted shirt worn by Breton seamen under their heavy jacket. So when someone says “en Bretagne, on porte des marinières,” they’re naming a piece of regional sailor heritage, not just a fashion choice.
An 1858 French navy decree fixed the exact pattern — 21 white stripes and 20 indigo ones — so a sailor who fell overboard stood out against the waves. Coco Chanel, Brigitte Bardot and Jean-Paul Gaultier later turned that uniform into a runway classic, which is how a working sailor’s tricot became shorthand for chic.
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Source: wordfreq 3.1.1 (general) · Lexique 3.83 (spoken). Buckets approximate; exact ranks not stored.