ONCE UPON A time, wearing stripes could get you killed.According to medieval records, at least one Frenchman—a cobbler—was executed as punishment for his striped garb in 1310. Back then, the pattern was widely associated with the devil and other unsavory characters like prostitutes, prisoners and clowns. But by the end of the 18th century, stripes had shed their stigma. They were embraced by the upper class and later, in the 19th century, were adopted by the French Navy in the form of the iconic Breton-striped top. Coco Chanel introduced mariner-inspired stripes into the high-fashion lexicon, and stripes have since...

Source: Wall Street Journal January 31, 2019 15:33 UTC