BRIGITTE BARDOT in CAPRI PANTS
There’s some fashion trends come, go and maybe decades later are resurrected, others never go out of style. Classic, casual, elegant, chic and sporty, the timeless style of Capri has lived on beyond its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s to almost attain the status of a lifestyle. Even today, you can see pieces of Capri-inspired fashion in the collections of the world’s most famous designers. I love how this iconic style lets me dream of leisurely days spent by the azure shores of the tranquil Italian island of Capri and warm nights under the stars with good friends. Everyone can recognize the signature items of Capri style, including the eponymous pants, but just how well do you know the story of this vintage fashion?
Beyond Capri’s natural beauty and glamorous vacation life, hardly anyone realizes that the island has a long tradition of master tailoring. According to legend, the island’s namesake Capri pants were inspired by the pants of Italian fishermen. In 1948 the the mid-calf length design, which allowed men to keep dry and have great freedom of movement when they worked in the sea,was given a graceful feminine interpretation by the fashion designer Sonja De Lennart. While she wasn’t Italian, De Lennart loved vacationing on Capri and dedicated her collection to the island.
Jackie Kennedy wearing CAPRI PANTS
Strolls through CAPRI with VALENTINO
Capri were introduced by fashion designer Sonja de Lennart in 1948, and were popularised by her and English couturier Bunny Roger. The name of the pants is derived from the Italian isle of Capri, where they rose to popularity in the late 1950s and early '60s. The actress Audrey Hepburn was among the first movie stars who wore Capris, and the pants quickly became synonymous with her classic style. The French actress Brigitte Bardot notoriously wore Capri pants at a time when trousers were still a new thing for women. Marilyn Monroe always travelled with Capris.
Capris' acceptance in the United States was influenced by the 1960s television series The Dick Van Dyke Show. The character Laura Petrie, the young housewife played by Mary Tyler Moore, caused a fashion sensation – and some mild controversy – by wearing snug-fitting capri pants during the show's run.
By the mid 1960s, Capri-style tight-fitting cargo pants became popular among teenage boys; a good example was the superstar teen actor of that era, Luke Halpin, who wore them in some episodes of the popular Flipper. After a drop in popularity during the 1970s through the 1990s, Capris returned to favour in the mid 2000s.[12] Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal wore Capri pants in the majority of his matches before 2009 following a deal with Nike to wear sponsored Capris, a deal that Roger Federer had turned down before him. The Thirteenth Doctor from Doctor Who wore Capri pants. Kate Middleton wore Capri pants for outdoorsy events.
In 2017, the superintendent of the Douglas County School District in Georgia sent out an email qualifying Capri pants as inappropriate garments for the school environment, thus raising the question of what pant's length remain acceptable.
Audrey Hephurn
Capri Pants and a Coffee
Jackie Kennedy on Capri
In Capri Pants of Course
Emilio Pucci
The popularity of Capri pants and headscarves is also due in great part to Emilio Pucci who opened his first boutique on Capri in 1950. Pucci’s designs reflected Mediterranean colors, transforming them into a sophisticated kaleidoscope of color – lemon yellow, Emilio pink, lavender, Capri blue, tangerine orange and mint green – that quickly became the designer’s signature style.
CAPRI / POSITANO
The AMALFI COAST
COOKBOOK / TRAVEL GUIDE
FIND a ROOM on CAPRI
POSITANO The AMALFI COAST
And WORLDWIDE
