Saint James is one of the oldest brands in French fashion. Its story began in 1850 in a town of the same name just a few kilometres from Mont Saint-Michel. At that time, there were many sheep farms and, just like the neighbouring villages, Saint James specialised in processing and spinning wool. The first finished products created by Saint James were underwear and socks which were sold to hosiery shops.
Over the years, the fabric became so tightly woven thact it was waterproof. The fisherman sweater is slightly shorter and is worn close to the body to act as a second skin. The buttoning at the side is there to help pull the sweater off more easily. The French Navy has long been Saint James’ biggest customer. The legend also says that the first order of stripped sweaters was placed by a Navy engineer at the end of the nineteenth century. He found that it was easier to find a man who had fallen overboard if he was wearing stripes. The fisherman sweater became a uniform with its own rules: the sailors wore stripes and the officers were distinguished by their plain sweaters.
Since the 1990s, the Saint James company has developed considerably while maintaining its historical production in the town where it all started. The surface area of its workshops has increased from 6,500m2 to 11,000m2. The number of employees has also almost doubled! A true French success story. Even though the fisherman sweater is still the brand’s flagship product, in its latest collections Saint James has been moving towards a more general sport-chic style with polo-shirts and shirts in particular.
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