The vest is a cult wardrobe item worn by Audrey Hepburn and Kurt Cobain: We’ve put together 14 stylish options for spring.

We’re sure every girl has a long sleeve or blue and white striped knit sweater in her arsenal. This is a timeless classic that has never lost its relevance throughout the century and a half of its existence. The vest has come a long way from the usual sailor uniform to one of the main symbols of the new French wave.

In 1858, blue and white striped Bretons (each exactly 20 millimeters wide) were worn by sailors of the French Navy. And in the 1920s, Coco Chanel borrowed this idea and gradually began to introduce the nautical style into fashion. If you can believe it, he first wore the vest while walking along the beach in Deauville. They say that Chanel accidentally spilled champagne on her clothes and turned into a striped Breton. Later, this wardrobe item appeared in the designer’s collections more than once in various variations.

Later, the vest was worn by Pablo Picasso, Marilyn Monroe, Jackie Kennedy, Brigitte Bardot, Edie Sedgwick and even Audrey Hepburn. And already in the 1960s, it became one of the symbols of the New French Wave.

After the release of Jean-Luc Godard’s “Breathless”, young people caught the Breton stripes trend with renewed vigor. French women began to imitate the main character of the picture, Jean Seberg, who proudly wore a short haircut, chino and, of course, a vest.

Twenty years later, Breton was literally monopolized by Jean-Paul Gaultier. It has appeared in his collections more than once, and the designer himself calls the vest the most concise and freedom-loving clothes in the world.

Fans of timeless classics can be listed for a very long time. For example, in the 1990s Kurt Cobain was an unspoken ambassador, and a decade later Diane Kruger and Sienna Miller chose the vest. Interest in vests has not waned so far. Fashion influencers and street style heroes skillfully combine the Breton with oversized biker jackets, classic jeans and chunky boots.

If you still do not have a vest, we recommend that you urgently correct the situation and buy at least one. To make the task easier, we’ve put together 14 fashion options that we fell in love with at first sight.