This Is The Only Spring Trend We Found Remotely Useful … and Ok, Fine We Really LOVE It
Hint: stripes
by The Candidly Team
We won’t tease this out or make you scroll 15 ads to get to the point.
The trend is nautical. Aka “Fisherman Core.”
You’ve probably noticed the seaside themes in store windows, the sailboat-embroidered sailor dresses, the t-shirts block-printed with cute little illustrations of tinned fish.
It’s all very joyful. And nostalgic. And New England. And we won’t lie … it’s one trend we kind of love.
"Why?" you ask.
Well, we realized all the things we normally associate with "nautical" are actually untrendy: things like stripes and linens and boatneck tees and cozy pullover sweaters. They’re all the things that we already find classic and chic but with a casual and summery spin.
The styles that come from this trend tend to be a more playful version of “quiet luxury” which is not only perfect for spring and summer but a great aesthetic for women over 40. Everything is breezy and comfortable without being boring - it’s coastal grandmother without leaning too far into the grandmother. But how better to plead our case than with the clothes themselves?
Here are 12 of our absolute favorite, must-have nautical-inspired pieces:
1. The Boatneck
J.Crew Classic Mariner Cloth Boatneck T-Shirt
Stripes are the cornerstone to the nautical aesthetic. Not to mention a very lazy way to look chic. We’ve talked about this particular striped tee before as a staple in every chic French woman’s wardrobe and as an under $50 item every woman over 40 should own. It makes clothes into instant outfits. Swap it in for any t-shirt you were planning to wear with jeans, and you will look 72% more sophisticated. It’s also insanely on sale rn.
Price: $19.50
2. The Pull-On Linen Pant
Anthropologie Somerset Pull-On Pants: Linen Edition
This is the kind of effortless pant we want to reach for any time it’s not in the hamper, because it makes us look and feel our best even on our most bloated of days. See how the elastic waist isn’t narrow, so it looks smooth and flat in front without puckering? It has all the comfort of light, stretchy PJs, but the fit makes it a chic, flattering, warm-weather pant. The color neutral really gels with the nautical theme, but multiple colors are necessary.
Price: $118
3. The Boat Shoe
Boat shoes are making a comeback, or maybe we should say another comeback. And we’re completely on board with that for this reason: like loafers, they work with every length of bottom. But unlike loafers, they’re less formal (less workwearish), so they come off a little bit (can we say cooler?), more casual, more JoJo yelling off the dock in Mystic Pizza. IYKYK.
Price: $100
4. The Sailor Sweatshirt
Funnily enough, this comes from a brand that’s famous for their stripes, and you should definitely check them out because we’re not exaggerating when we say we want e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g on their site. But this sweatshirt, with its minimalist version of the sailor neck, just topped our leaderboard. And look, it even brings in another trend we don’t hate, a bow! Wear this with any cropped jeans or long, draping trousers in your closet, and you’re done. It also comes in the reverse colors, and we can’t decide which we like more.
Price: $198
5. The Striped Midi
Z Supply Gail Stripe Midi Skirt
We had written about this skirt before it ever came in stripe, because it’s stretchy and not too thin, so it holds us in and smooths our “bumps” in ways that so few fitted skirts manage to. The waist is elastic so it always sits very comfortably on the waist. So when they made it in stripe, we felt very strongly we had to tell you about it before it sold out. And here we are.
Price: $69
6. The Knit Vest
Pilcro V-Neck Sailboat Motif Cardigan Sweater Vest
Perfect on its own or over a little white tee. This is one of those things that speaks for itself. So we’ll just leave it right here.
Price: $128
7. The Sailor jean
The Colette Denim High-Rise Cropped Wide-Leg Jeans by Maeve
Sailor jeans look good on every shape human. They smooth curves, cover your tum, but also give you shape when you’re more straight or rectangular. These have long been our favorite cropped sailor jean because they come in the best-selling, supremely flattering Colette pants cut that Anthropologie has made famous. They also come in 3 washes, but classic blue is great for the sailer gal look.
Price: $138
8. The Fisherman Cardi
Quince 100% Organic Cotton Fisherman Boxy Cropped Cardigan
Naturally, we were gonna get to the fisherman sweater. We bought this one and loved it immediately because the fit isn’t too long and the sleeve is drop-shoulder, so it’s cozy and cocooning without looking frumpy. Also, the price is pretty incredible.
Price: $50
9. The Bucket Hat
Aritzia Sunbeam Raffia Short-brim Hat
You don’t have to be into the maritime trend to appreciate this sun hat from Aritzia. It comes in 4 brim sizes (mini, short, medium, and wide), so you can go from full, floppy sun hat coverage to cute little bucket hat, whatever you know in your heart looks best on you. It also comes in black and two shades of beige and is packable so it won’t get crumpled n your luggage. Bless!
Price: $68
10. The Captain’s jacket
How often do we find ourselves searching our own closet for a casual, not-too-hot-or-heavy jacket that also makes our entire outfit 8X better instead of clashing or ruining it? Well, my friends, we think this could be the missing jacket. The color is gorj on everyone (though yes, it comes in others), and every detail just works with everything we wear but also makes it sing.
Price: $168
11. The Nautical Dress
About 92% of the time, we simply cannot stand something tight around our waist. This dress has the same chic slouch as our beloved boatneck tee that kicked off this article, but even though we have space, the stripes and neckline and drop shoulder make it flattering. We wear it loosely belted or with THIS incredible leather fanny when we want more shape and let it loose when we don’t. It comes in many colors of stripe, and the feeling of it on is just plain bliss.
Price: $70
12. The Sardine Sweatshirt
It’s pieces like this that force our fingers to type in the Clare V. URL daily just to check for any new, joy-sparking designs they’ve come up with. We’ve been fiends for their luxury bags which come in a spellbinding selection of textures and colors, but even their sweatshirts somehow end up being the stars of our closet. This one, with rolled up jeans and boat shoes, will get you more compliments than most of your dresses. It’s just that kind of sweatshirt.
Price: $165
Bonus: The Accessories
The Scarf: The print looks so pretty when tied to a tote or a pony tail.
The Nautical Tote: This raffia tote, complete with woven fish, is hard to beat, but we also love THIS canvas classic once carried by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy herself.
The Compass Necklace: The sort of understated accent necklace that makes us weak.
The Striped Socks: Nothing perks us up like seeing a sliver of these stripes peek out from under our jeans.
At The Candidly, we try a lot of stuff so you don’t have to. We only recommend things we truly love, and that we think you’ll love, too. All products are chosen independently by our creative team, and all details reflect the price and availability of products at the time of publication. If you buy something we link to, The Candidly may earn a commission.
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