Mencyclopaedia: The Guernsey

To the 21st-century's hair-straightened digital natives, it must be tricky to imagine a time before internet shopping. But try wrapping your bandwidth around this: in the 15th century, even Topshop - not just the website, but the actual shop - hadn't been invented yet. None the less, this antediluvian age marked the conception of one of the most useful and interesting garments there is, and it happened in Guernsey. Precisely why is unclear - perhaps it was because this lush Channel Island had an abundance of sheep and fishermen's spouses with time to kill - but Guernsey emerged as an early centre of pre-industrial knitwear. There are credible claims that Elizabeth 1 had some Guernsey-needled garments in her wardrobe, and that Mary Queen of Scots was executed in Guernsey stockings.

In time, the island's preoccupations with knitting and fishing led to the development of a smock perfectly suited to the needs of seafarers. Made in thickly hand-spun, tightly wound, lanolin-rich wool, it was worn close around the body for insulation and practicality. And thanks to its natural waxiness the garment was even water-repellant.

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Almost symmetrical (so it could be put on both ways, and thus worn out evenly), it was generously gusseted at the armpit to avoid compromising freedom of movement. Decorative embellishment - skeuomorph ribbing at the elbows and waist in the shape of waves or rope, or parish patterns - followed. As the maritime world grew smaller, this Guernsey-born garment (sometimes called a ''gansey'') spread: from the isles of Aran to the Puget Sound (where, following colonisation, the Salish Indians developed their own knitwear tradition), local variations evolved.

In Brittany, they added stripes to the indigo blue Guernsey template and two buttons at the shoulder for a tighter fit at the neck. By the 19th century the Guernsey was part of naval uniform that saw action in the battle of Trafalgar (they are still occasional military issue, even for desert-based army units, today).

Inevitably, industrialisation changed things. No longer were fishermen's wives obliged to make the competitively patterned versions that indicated where the wearer was from, as well as the skill of its knitter. Machine-made Guernseys remained popular until the 1980s, and were widely worn on land, too.

Guernsey sweaters £120 (hats and scarves £25) - all The Guernsey at www.theguernsey.co.uk

It was then, reports Phil Walker of Guernsey Woollens, that this redoubtable sweater's centuries-old reign was rudely disrupted. He says: "Fleeces and 'technical' stuff you can just chuck in the washing machine: that was the downfall." Phil and his business partner Arthur Eldridge are now among a staff of only "six or seven" at Guernsey Woollens, via whose basic but effective website you can buy a jumper (there are some great colours, but Walker says 70 per cent of customers go for navy) from £67.56.

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Now Ed Searle, a former luxury publisher who has been visiting the island since childhood, hopes to give Guernseys the Net-a-Porter treatment. His new e-tailer, theguernsey.co.uk, features Guernsey-clad models, slickly shot films, and offers hats, scarves and Guernseys hand-signed by the ladies who hand-finish them (the oldest is Olive, who is 87). Also island-made, (at a rival manufacturer to Walker's) this cleverly produced website is designed to appeal to those digital natives - and displays enough bells, whistles and marketing expertise to justify its prices (£120 a pop). The product is great. When I wore one (very warm, a bit scratchy and, yes, navy blue) this week it drew admiring comments at the UK HQ of Hermès - and they're a tough crowd. If Searle can reboot the Guernsey - and maybe make Chinese-cashmere wearing masses consider this manly classic instead - then the ghosts of countless fishermen's wives will thank him.

Get it at:
- theguernsey.co.uk is home to Ed Searle's luxed-up etailer.
- guernseywoollens.com is home to Phil Walker's 30-year established business.
- Other websites offer 'Guernseys' - but not all truly hail from the Island. So navigate carefully.

Read more from Luke Leitch here

Via: Mencyclopaedia: The Guernsey