WHAT IS NAUTICAL?
Sure, you can slap an anchor motif on a sweater and call it nautical. But truly seaworthy looks are likely to have some real relationship to water. Here’s what some designers say defines nautical for them: • Karen Pitts, vice president of Sperry, maker of the famous Top-Sider deck shoe: “Water is not just the ocean, there are lakes and rivers. And it’s as much a state of mind. Water is universally soothing and if people can tap into that, it’s something we really see as resonating,” Pitts says. • Jenna Lyons Mazeau, J.Crew’s vice president of women’s design: “It can be as simple as a navy T-shirt, white shorts and a red belt. It’s that third element that completes it. Just the shirt and shorts might not be ‘nautical.’ ” • Mirian Lamberth, creative director for Nautica: She points out that nautical is not a summer-only style. Think of fisherman sweaters with beautiful anchor buttons or navy cashmere hoodies, she says, and a garment in white or cream can look even fresher in the fall or
