I’ve had a request from one of my readers, on ways in which you can wear the nautical look.

Presently this trend is HUGE overseas, on the American and European catwalks, for the spring/summer 2010 season.

Chanel+Resort+Spring+2010
Chanel Resort Spring 2010
Karen+Walker+RTW+Spring+2010
Karen Walker ‘Ready To Wear’ Spring 2010


If you haven’t fallen in love with the look yet, start practicing, as it’s likely to be big over this side of the world as well, come our summer season later in the year. The good thing for us though, is that we don’t have to wait quite so long. There are already hints of this trend hitting our shores at the moment. Retailers such as Valleygirl and Bardot have emphasised the nautical look in their current stock, in stores now. So if you can’t wait for the next summer season, you can at least mix some of it’s inspiration into your winter wardrobe in anticipation.

So how do you wear it with flair? Take a look at some of these examples below.

Dress it up:

Dressed Up NauticalFashion Trends & Styles - Polyvore

Dressed Up Nautical by LivingInStyle featuring Lanvin shoes

Choose a dress that has the nautical theme in it and dress it up with a bit of bling. Add a jacket during cooler weather and a pair of tights. If you don’t like showing too much cleavage, then add a slip top underneath a low cut dress or use a chunky necklace to help diffuse the area.

Do as the French Do:

Take a pair of wide leg trousers and a ‘Chanel’ inspired jacket, combine these with a few nautical pieces and you have an outfit that resembles the French Riviera.

Team it with your basics:

Classic Neutral NauticalFashion Trends & Styles - Polyvore
A plain white tank and a pair of neutral trousers help to tone down the nautical theme, if you are a bit weary of it. What you end up with, is a simple, casual, yet chic style.
Layer the nautical colours:
Layer the Nautical ColoursFashion Trends & Styles - Polyvore

Layer the Nautical Colours by LivingInStyle featuring Michael Kors tops

If all the stripes are not your thing, then layer with the solid nautical colours instead of blue, white and red.

Team it with jeans:

Nautical with JeansFashion Trends & Styles - Polyvore

Nautical with Jeans by LivingInStyle featuring Citizens of Humanity jeans

Smarten up your denim with blue and white stripes. The nautical look is great for adding just a touch of class to what can be very casual jeans. If you find that horizontal stripes are having that widening effect on you that you don’t want, try choosing items with wide/spaced stripes or breaking it up by adding a long chunky dangling necklace or scarf. To add warmth to summer tops, layer with a log sleeve tank underneath.

Use it as statement accessories:

Nautical AccessiruesFashion Trends & Styles - Polyvore

Nautical Accessirues by LivingInStyle featuring See By Chloe shoes

If you truly can not give into this trend, try it out in just a few accessories. As you can see there is a lot of variety to choose from, for all kinds of tastes.
To sum it all up, the nautical trend can add chic style to any look. My advice though is to find ways that you can incorporate just a few items, to your already existing wardrobe. Think of it as statement or accent pieces and have fun mixing it up. Leave the head to toe nautical for the catwalk or a fancy dress party!

For further inspiration here are some more looks hot of the catwalk in the nautical theme.

Tommy+Hilfiger+Spring+2010+RTW
Tommy Hilfiler ‘Ready To Wear’ Spring 2010
DKNY+Spring+2010+RTW
DKNY ‘Ready To Wear’ Spring 2010
Derek+Lam+Spring+2010+Resort

Derek Lam Resort Spring 2010

All catwalk fashion images from style.com, nautical examples from polyvore

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