The Style
Note that I didn't say bold stripes, but dominant stripes. While navy and white stripes are a must for the look, the real key to Summer's take on nautical stripes is that they dominate the outfit. While they do so in the above look easily (though the plum Doc Martens still seem somewhat heavy), in other outfits it's about drawing attention to the stripes above all else in the outfit.
As an illustration of the point be sure to look at the inspiration pictures below; while most looks rely on bold stripes, you'll see that the trend is just as effective when the stripes are thin. Hence for Summer 2010 look for dominant stripes, not necessarily bold ones.
The Pieces To Wear
Don't think of this Summer stripes just as a clothing trend: you can work them into any part of an outfit (just not all at once, please). As you'll see in the inspiration gallery stripes can dominate an outfit in everything from hats to killer mini-dresses.
To Nautical Or Not To Nautical?
While Summer's navy and white striped fashion trend isn't a true take on navy inspired fashion, it's likely to appeal to those who are in to the nautical aesthetic. If that's you and you're after some inspiration look to Anja Rubik's sailor inspiration from the June 2010 issue of Vogue Korea. The shoot utilises the season's stripe trend in the form of a dominant blazer, but takes the nautical motifs to far less subtle proportions.
Layering
The natural inclination for layering nautical pieces in an outfit is to do so with complimentary colours (read 'navy and white'). And I can't fault that logic. It's the easy option. But may I offer up one piece of inspiration that differs from the safe? Nataliya Piro in Cosmopolitan magazine mixing (admittedly non-dominant) stripes with floral prints. The stripes don't dominate, but in a crowded room the look certainly will.
