Nautical Chic

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From Chanel’s coastal couture to McLaren and Westwood's punk-fuelled pirates, from Jean Paul Gaultier’s beefcake camp to Tommy Hilfiger’s preppy classics, this is the first and only book to celebrate nautical fashion and all its iconic looks

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From Chanel’s coastal couture to McLaren and Westwood's punk-fuelled pirates, from Jean Paul Gaultier’s beefcake camp to Tommy Hilfiger’s preppy classics, this is the first and only book to celebrate nautical fashion and all its iconic looks.

Nautical style has an enduring sophistication, and this volume is a glorious celebration of its perennial popularity, tracing the history of its trends and impact on the clothes we love. From the beaches of Cape Cod and Nantucket to the yachts of Côte d'Azur, not to mention catwalks everywhere, the nautical look has cut a sartorial swathe for over two centuries.

Amber Jane Butchart charts the rise and rise of the nautical influence on fashion over five chapters, each one devoted to an iconic maritime figure. While ‘The Sailor’ explores the undeniable sex appeal of the sailor and ‘The Sportsman’ covers the classic All-American Look, ‘The Officer’ shows how epaulettes, brass buttons and braiding came to be catwalk staples. ‘The Fisherman’ charts how blue-and-white stripes became the choice of style arbiters as diverse as Coco Chanel, Pablo Picasso, Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Andy Warhol. ‘The Pirate’ concludes the book by tying together Captain Hook, Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, and Alexander McQueen.

Extent: 224 pp
Format: hardback
Illustrations: 210
Publication date: 2015-03-30
Size: 28.0 x 22.5 cm
ISBN: 9780500517802
Introduction • 1. The Officer • 2. The Sailor • 3. The Fisherman • 4. The Sportsman • 5. The Pirate
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Press Reviews

Full of seafaring style
Sunday Mail

Evocatively illustrated with stand out archive imagery as well as inspirational contemporary fashion photography, <i>Nautical Chic</i> is the definitive history of coastal couture
Time Out

This book is a fascinating blend of politics, leisure and marine adventure and, although a scholarly work, it is written in a friendly, accessible tone
Fashion Bookworm

A new history of fashion inspired by the sea ... the author traces the many threads linking our seafaring past with out catwalk present, charting how official navy dress, fisherman's workwear, bohemian Rivera style and the rebel pirate have become some of our most enduring looks
Sunday Telegraph

About the Author

Amber Butchart is a fashion historian on a quest to reveal the secrets of our sartorial past. She is regularly called on to share her expertise on the fashion industry and its history, from Woman?s Hour and BBC Breakfast to Great British Sewing Bee. She presents a regular ?In Conversation? series at the V&A museum, and has lectured on many aspects of fashion history at leading institutions including the British Museum, Royal Academy of Arts, Tate Britain, British Library, and British Film Institute. She is an Associate Lecturer in Cultural & Historical Studies at London College of Fashion and a former visiting Research Fellow at University of the Arts London.

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