The horizontal sailor-stripe shirt is one of those things you wear without asking why - it's universal, it always works, it never tips into being trendy. Behind it stands a woman who, back in 1917, decided that women deserved comfortable clothes: Coco Chanel.

On the Normandy coast, in an age when corsets were the standard, Chanel watched the fishermen in their characteristic Breton tops. Borrowing the shape and adapting it for her 1917 nautical collection, the striped shirt became a symbol of liberation from clothes that compressed the body. Not just a fashion statement - one of the first practical weapons in the fight for women's comfort.

From there, the shirt passed through Brigitte Bardot, Audrey Hepburn, Jean Seberg, James Dean and - unexpectedly - Picasso. Every generation reinterpreted it: in the 60s as Parisian bohemia, in the 90s as minimalism, and over the last few years more often paired with wide jeans and vintage slip-on ballet flats.

The trick is the balance between the classic shape and a modern setup. The striped shirt sits well with a gabardine coat or a light grey blazer (minimalist spring look), with wide jeans and slip-on shoes (casual, equally good for working from home and a coffee out), or with high-waisted trousers and a sharp-shouldered jacket (professional, without being strict).

For the Balkan woman who thinks fashion is only for those with unlimited budgets: this is one of three pieces of clothing where the buy is impossible to get wrong. 12-15 euros for a basic model at Zara or H&M, 30-40 if you want something more durable. You aren't being sold an illusion - you are buying a tool.