Boat neck

A boat neck, also called a bateau neck or Sabrina neckline, is a wide neckline that runs horizontally, front and back, almost to the shoulder points, across the collarbone. It is traditionally used in nautically inspired sweaters and knitwear, but is also featured in more elegant cocktail dresses and eveningwear. The style derives from French sailors' blouses, often with wide navy and white horizontal stripes.

History

A striped boat neck shirt was used in sailors' uniforms of the French Navy in 1858. The wide, plain neckline was said to facilitate quick removal if a sailor were to fall overboard. The style was adopted by the Russian Navy and other navies in the following years. It came into prominence in mainstream fashion in the 1920s and was popularised by Coco Chanel in the '30s.^[1]

In the '50s and '60s, plain boat neck shirts were worn by artists associated with beatnik culture. Around that same period, Trần Lệ Xuân, wife of South Vietnam State Counsellor Ngô Đình Nhu, incorporated this neckline into the traditional áo dài, which still remains relevant today for its practicality in Vietnam's tropical climate.

Boat necks became more prominent in fashion in the 2010s as Meghan Markle was photographed wearing them in what some magazines claimed was a signature style.^[2]^[3]