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 sailors' blouses or sweaters, often with wide navy and white horizontal stripes.The wide, plain neck was said to facilitate quick removal if a sailor were to fall overboard.[1][2] In the '50s and '60s plain boat neck shirts were worn by artists, and became associated with beatnik culture.[1] 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.
