Aboard a submarine, water, oxygen and space get scarce. While on duty, submariners don’t see the light of day for months.
World War I: Royal Navy endowment
During the First World War, the Admiralty adapted its rules for the British Royal Navy submariners. The crew’s hygiene is less strict, the style is more casual, and the British « War Office » supplied thick woolcontinuous growth fiber of animal origin (alpaca, camel, Kas sweaters in ecrutextile materials, yarns or fabrics that have not been washe, grey and navy blue – very comfortable and above all useful to endure the cold in the North Sea.
These sweaters, still in use today, became one of the distinctive elements of submariners to a point that in 2019, they asked for the permission to wear them onshore as well as offshore.
Democratisation and diversion of the submarine pullover
The submariners were seen as the « pirates » of the British army, and after the Second World War, the sweater won over other rebels: bikers, the Beatles, Mick Jagger, 70s’ anti-mainstream groups, and even intellectuals… while its technical qualities seduced the Royal Air Force pilots.
DEUTSCH, Jean-Claude, phot. DUTRONC, Jacques. Paris Match, 1966.
British submariners. 1944.
- THE DOUBLE-BREASTED SUIT
« He had on a double-breasted suit of the type then known as the pillbox; it was chalk-striped, pink on blue » - LAPELS
« Trends in lapel size often mirror the economic climate: during World War II, lapels initially became smaller due to fabric shortages » - COOPER X 12
« Dressed up like a million-dollar trouper/Tryin’ hard to look like Gary Cooper/Super Duper – Puttin’ on the Ritz » - OUTER POCKETS
« It wasn’t until the Industrial Revolution that sewn-on pockets, and pockets hidden within the liningfabric that is used inside a garment, became standard in clothing… »