Breton Stripe Knit Polo

The Breton stripe began as a French naval uniform in the 1850s, designed to make sailors visible if they fell overboard. Chanel moved it off the docks in the 1910s, and by the postwar years Picasso had made it his uniform. In the summer of 1955, Sanford Roth pointed a camera at James Dean in one, and the rest is history.

James Dean preferred pieces like this with straightforward functionality — clean lines and no unnecessary details. The Johnny collar offers a practical middle ground between formal and casual: more relaxed than a dress shirt, but more refined than a crewneck.

In collaboration with the James Dean Estate, this Breton Stripe from Fieldworth was carefully crafted in Portugal to match the high-quality garment Dean favored back in the 50s. Each panel is knit to its final shape right on the machine, stitches added and dropped to build the curve of the armhole and the taper of the sleeve. Nothing gets cut, so nothing frays or works loose. The seams are linked stitch to stitch — flat, with no ridge you can feel through a jacket sleeve. Fully fashioned knits like this are slower and harder to make, but the quality is exceptional.

• A Johnny Collar knit polo in a classic Breton stripe pattern
• Made from 100% pre-shrunk cotton
• Clean, seamless finish at the neckline
• 1×1 Rib at sleeve and bottom hem
• Fully fashioned, knit flat with linked seams
• James Dean ™ is a trademark of James Dean, Inc.

• Relaxed fit, size down for a slimmer fit

• 100% Cotton, 14-gauge plain knit jersey
• Hand or machine wash cold, dry flat in the shade. Warm iron, as needed.
• Made in Portugal