Tasaraita - Stripes since 1968

A stripy shirt is a piece that most of us probably have in our closets. Its allure lies in its versatility. First introduced in 1858 as the uniform for the French navy, and later embraced by the likes of Coco Chanel and Pablo Picasso, the simple and chic long-sleeve striped shirt combines not only with your jeans or wide-leg trousers but also with your flowing skirts. Marimekko’s take on even stripes is called Tasaraita.

Marimekko entered the stripy scene in 1968, a time of emerging new cultural forms, modern bohemianism and alternative lifestyles re-examining prevailing values.​ Aligned with the liberated spirit of the late 1960s, the Tasaraita (even stripe) shirt by Annika Rimala came with an open-minded and inclusive message of equality and acceptance. From the beginning, the Tasaraita shirts were designed to be gender-fluid. Yet despite its democratic character, a stripy shirt does have a connotation of coming across as bold and daring – the reason it has kept on mesmerizing artistic minds and modern-day fashionistas alike, decade after decade.