The famous Russian vest has many names, in particular, “sea soul”. Over the past couple of centuries, the striped sailor's shirt, usually worn over a naked body, has literally become a legend, a parable...
The famous Russian vest has many names, in particular, “sea soul”. Over the past couple of centuries, the striped sailor's shirt, usually worn over a naked body, has literally become a legend, the talk of the town. Moreover, the stripes on it can be of different colors, depending on who is wearing this vest.
A vest came to us from European countries. This happened in those days when sea ships were sailing: the stripes dazzled in the eyes and the sailor was easy to notice against the background of sails of different shades. And in the case of the command “Man overboard!” blue and white stripes contributed to the speedy rescue of the fallen sailor.
French sailors, early 20th century
It used to happen that sailors created vests for themselves with their own hands, simply knitting them. The French Navy had a standard, adopted in 1852, according to which there were 21 stripes on the vest - the number of times Napoleon solemnly won. And sailors from Holland and England wore shirts with 12 stripes, corresponding to the number of human ribs. There was a superstition that sea spirits considered sailors dressed in vests to be already skeletonized dead and did not harm them. That is, the vest was not only a suitable vestment for work, but also, on the one hand, an amulet.
Since 1874, Russian sailors began to wear striped shirts. In the summer of this year, Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov ordered that from now on every Russian sailor should have a vest and become part of his service attire.
Sailors of the Rynda, 1893
At first, the vests of Russian sailors were made of wool and paper; they weighed about 350 grams. The old vest had white and blue stripes running across, the white stripe was an inch long, and the blue stripe was ¼ inch long. Since 1912, the stripes have become equal - 11.11 mm each.
It should be noted that the stripes on the vest have long been different in color. Sailors serving in different flotillas had both green and red stripes. But the blue color of the stripes is, of course, an undeniable classic. Because white and blue are the colors of the St. Andrew's flag, which symbolizes the Russian fleet. 
On the deck of the Varyag, 1916
At first, vests for Russian sailors were made outside of Russia. Only after a certain period they began to sew striped shirts in St. Petersburg at one of the knitting factories (later called “Red Banner”).
Nowadays, there are stripes on vests: dark blue, light blue, cornflower blue, light green, speckled, orange. It depends on the type of troops.
In addition, cadets - future sailors - receive vests along with their uniform.
According to rumors, submariners and marines wear a vest with black stripes, but if you believe special departmental documents, this is not so, they should all have a vest with dark blue stripes.
Notable are the circumstances of how the Airborne Forces soldiers began to wear striped shirts. In fact, vests have been part of their uniform since 1959. At that moment they began to be awarded to soldiers who parachuted onto the water. Although at first there were opponents to this fact. There is a story that the legendary commander of the Airborne Forces, Hero of the Soviet Union Vasily Margelov expressed the opinion that, since he was at one time both a marine and a paratrooper, he knows for sure that paratroopers are equal to them in courage, and have the right to also wear a “sea soul” " So the Marines shared their military symbol of courage with the paratroopers.
It was also noticed that the striped vest creates a visual illusion, and it seems that there are more people on deck than there actually are. Therefore, the expression “there are few of us, but we are in vests” is literally true. Also, to the best of his ability, Dmitry Shagin, the leader of the St. Petersburg “Mitki” (a community of artists), promotes vests. He expresses the opinion that the vest changes the person who wears it, encourages him to straighten his back and become bolder.
The famous vest
The vest is one of the favorite wardrobe items of a huge number of men. However, few of them know about the history of the vest fashion. Vests appeared during the heyday of the sailing fleet. They were colored, and the sailors knitted them themselves. In the 18th century, sailors were forbidden to wear them; the naval vest returned from disgrace in the 19th century, along with the Dutch suit, which sailors were required to wear. The set included flared trousers, a blue flannel jacket, a short peacoat and a striped vest.
There is probably not a boy who would not dream of the sea, and would not like to receive as a gift such indispensable accessories of a real sea wolf, such as, for example, a cap or a vest. And those wise parents who give such gifts to their children do the right thing. After all, who knows, maybe this not the most significant fact in the young man’s biography will determine his future fate. That’s why we at the Arsenal military cybermarket are noticing a constant and stable increase in demand for vests. It is growing at a noticeable pace even in cities such as, for example, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov, which are very far from the seas and oceans...
And those wise parents who give such gifts to their children do the right thing. And at the same time they tell the story of the Russian vest. After all, perhaps it is this vest and this story that will determine the future fate of the young man and make his dream of the sea come true.
From the history of the Russian state
The vest was introduced into the Russian Navy in 1874 by Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. The purpose of the transverse stripes of the vest is to make the actions of the sailors manipulating the sails on the yards better visible from the captain's bridge. And in the alternating blue and white colors of the Navy vests we see a correspondence with the blue and white St. Andrew’s flag. However, there were other color schemes in those days - for example, sea border guards wore vests with white and green stripes, and sailors of the Amudarya flotilla wore red and white ones. And, by the way, this tradition continues to this day. The coloring of the Navy vests is an alternation of dark blue and white stripes.
But besides the Navy, vests are also used in other branches and types of troops. Thus, the vests of the FSB special forces and the Presidential Regiment are alternating white and cornflower blue stripes, alternating white and light green are the vests of Border Guard troops. Light blue (to match the color of the sky) and white stripes are the vests of the Airborne Forces and paratroopers. White and speckled ones are the vests of the special forces of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and white and orange ones are worn by employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. But, of course, the most famous are the vests of the navy, a romantic symbol and pride of sailors.
By the way, there is also a special type of vest - the so-called fisherman's vest, double knit. In general, depending on the season, the army and navy use different vests. For example, in summer - thin, light, sleeveless. In winter - insulated, cotton, brushed. The clothes are comfortable, practical, and certainly beautiful in their own way.
Where to buy a vest? Yes, right here, in the Arsenal military store!
The main thing here is your desire. You simply say to yourself: “I’ll buy a vest” and press a few buttons on your computer that take you to the appropriate page of the site. And then in front of you is the entire assortment: children’s and adults, insulated and lightweight, with long sleeves or vest-shirts. All products with detailed descriptions and high-quality photographs, which means you won’t have to worry about
Here, although the decision is yours and yours alone, we would like to give some simple tips. Tip one: don’t skimp on a good product. Tip two: even when buying the best product, try to save your money. How to reconcile the first advice with the second, which would seem to completely contradict it? Everything is very simple: there is no contradiction here.
No more expensive than money
The first tip is: do not fall for ostentatious cheapness, bright labels praising the unsurpassed qualities of the product. The risk of running into a second-rate product or, which is also very annoying, some kind of counterfeit, is too great. Buy things only where the quality of the goods is guaranteed, where you will not be deceived or sold some junk under the guise of a first-class item. Tip two: when buying a good product from a good store, be sure to look at the price and try to find a way to reduce it.
Here, for example, is our Arsenal store. Our prices for all products are low, accessible to people with any wallet size. We say this with confidence, because we know: the buyer can always check our words and compare our prices with the prices for the same goods in other stores. And at the same time we are ready to assert: the buyer may well reduce this low socially oriented price.
How? There is such a short word: wholesale. That's the whole secret. If you buy one single vest, then this is retail, and you pay for it exactly as much as indicated on the price tag. If you buy a dozen, two or more vests, this is already a wholesale, and you are entitled to a significant discount in price.
The Arsenal military cybermarket not only sells vests in retail, but also sells them wholesale. You can purchase vests at a wholesale price by contacting the wholesale sales department if you are a legal entity.
Those wishing to buy a women's vest can contact us at We offer for sale both T-shirt vests and long-sleeved vests, lightweight and insulated, double knit. All of the above applies equally to users who want to buy a children's vest. This entire assortment is in stock, the quality is excellent, the prices are affordable and reasonable.
The vest is traditional clothing for sailors; it is simply impossible to imagine a true sailor without this element of clothing. Vests are worn in winter and summer, they are worn by sailors, marines, and even paratroopers - despite the fact that the latter are not associated with the fleet. Where did this tradition come from - wearing a striped shirt, who invented it? Why did it take root in naval traditions and remain relevant to this day?
This is a relatively recent tradition, dating back at most a couple of centuries. It has firmly entered both naval usage and army traditions.
The history of the vest
The vest appeared in naval traditions relatively recently, but has firmly entered into the everyday life of sailors. Before the abolition of serfdom, people were required to serve for 25 years, after which they switched to general military service. In connection with these fundamental changes, the uniforms worn by sailors were also replaced - this happened in 1874. It was during this period that the tunic appeared in army uniforms, and among sailors, tunics, which were not particularly comfortable, were replaced by shirts. In summer, the sailor was entitled to a shirt made of white linen, and in winter, a shirt made of blue flannel. Under them it was necessary to wear undershirts made of linen with blue and white stripes - the colors were chosen in accordance with the color of the St. Andrew's flag, uniform for the entire Russian fleet.
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The original name of the vest was bostrog, which quickly went out of use. The striped shirt became known as a vest or vest. Probably, this name appeared and stuck due to the fact that this shirt really represents a sailor’s underwear.
The main tasks of the vest
Sailor's overshirts have a wide cutout on the chest, which requires wearing clothes underneath. Piercing winds reign on the seas; the sailor needs additional protection from their influence. The vest can be woolen, knitted - for winter, thickened and insulated - for divers. There was a period when winter vests in the Red Army were made from camel wool, which warmed the body especially well. The summer vest is made of cotton, which provides ventilation to the body and prevents it from overheating. Since this clothing was created for the period of sailing, it allows a person to stay on deck for a long time in any weather, to protect himself from the cold in the piercing wind, working with gear and sails.
A sailor's clothing must withstand any vagaries of the weather, and in addition, it must make the person visible from afar.
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Why are vests striped?
Sailors working with sails and gear must be visible so that any error in their actions can be immediately corrected. The vest makes a person noticeable from afar; the sailor stands out perfectly against the background of white sails due to the blue stripes. White stripes make a person visible from afar on the water if he falls overboard. The colors taken from St. Andrew's flag turned out to be very practical. The vest also creates the optical effect that there are more people on deck than there actually are. This was noted both in early times and during the Second World War, in subsequent wars.
The vest, otherwise called a sweatshirt, vest, or even the romantic phrase “sea soul,” begins its history from the time of the advent of the European sailing fleet. It is believed that the white-blue or white-blue coloring of the vest helped during sea voyages to always see sailors against the backdrop of snow-white sails, as well as to observe them in the water if they accidentally fell overboard.
The first naval ones appeared in the Breton fleet back in the 16th century. Then they had exactly 12 black and white stripes, the number of human ribs. In this way, the sailors wanted to deceive death itself. She was supposed to take the sailors for already dead and not touch them. And this is not a random belief, because in those days, traveling by sea was a very dangerous activity.
The tradition with 12 transverse stripes was adopted from the British by the Dutch. But the French sailors already had 21 stripes on their vests, each of which symbolized one of Napoleon’s major victories. The European experience of using vests was transferred to Russian soil only on August 19, 1874, by order of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov.
Initially, a white-and-blue striped vest belonged exclusively to sailors of the Russian military fleet. And if at the end of the 19th century the naval vest consisted of white and blue stripes, among which the white stripes were much wider, then in our time this item of clothing contains white and blue stripes of the same width (approximately from 0.5 to 1.5 cm). Previously, vests were made from cotton and wool (in equal quantities), but now in most cases 100% natural cotton is used. The service life of a vest in the navy is one year.
During World War II, German soldiers and their allies well remembered the striped vests of the Marines (they had black and white stripes). It’s not for nothing that our sailors were nicknamed “striped devils.” And it’s not just about the courage and bravery of Russian sailors. The Europeans remembered very well that striped clothes had previously been worn by executioners, outcasts, terminally ill people and other outcasts of society who simply had nothing to lose.
Often, during battles, Marines dressed in the uniform of the ground forces for camouflage, but they always wore a vest. It was not only a comfortable piece of clothing for them, but also a special amulet. Russian warriors have also long had a tradition of putting on a clean shirt before battle. And nautical vests replaced them perfectly.
Airborne vest
Nowadays, the Airborne Forces are armed with vests with light blue stripes alternating with white. And the tradition of rewarding paratroopers who made the first parachute jump into water began in 1959. It was then, during the exercises, that Colonel V.A. Ustinovich presented the paratroopers with naval vests as a reward for successfully completing the assigned task. Although the idea of introducing vests with blue and white stripes into the Airborne Forces was carried out by the commander of the Airborne Forces V.F. Margelov and earlier, back in 1954-1959, as well as at a later time.
In the end, it was decided to make the vest an official part of the military clothing of the Airborne Forces, but only replace the blue stripes with light blue ones, symbolizing the color of the daytime sky in bright weather. And already in 1969, during the conflict in Czechoslovakia, all paratroopers wore uniform vests. Officially, this item of military clothing was assigned to the Airborne Forces by the Order of the USSR Ministry of Defense in 1969.
Vests for border troops
Since about the 1990s, vests of various colors have appeared in many branches of the military, in addition to the Navy and Airborne Forces. Border guards acquired white and green striped vests. This is due to the fact that in the 80s, a separate Vitebsk Airborne Division was suddenly transferred to the jurisdiction of the KGB of the USSR, which is why the light blue stripes were repainted green.
Then the paratroopers perceived this as an insult and oblivion of their military honor, but after the collapse of the USSR, when the division went to Belarus and again became part of the Airborne Forces, the tradition of wearing white and green vests was already firmly rooted among the border guards. And it hasn't changed to this day.
Vests of different types of troops
The colors of military vests for different branches of the military, Special Forces (special forces) and GRU (intelligence) were determined in Decree of the President of the Russian Federation No. 532 of 05/08/2005. In accordance with this document, the following types of vests were defined:
- Navy - vests with white and dark blue stripes. The same vests are worn by cadets of naval, as well as civilian river and sea schools;
- Airborne troops - vests with white and light blue stripes;
- Border troops - white and green striped vests;
- FSB special forces and the Presidential Regiment - vests with white stripes and cornflower blue stripes;
- Ministry of Emergency Situations - white and orange striped vests;
- Special forces of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Rosgvardia) - vests with white and maroon (burgundy) stripes.
Special mention should be made about sweatshirts with black and white stripes. You can often read that such vests are used by submariners and even the Marine Corps. However, it is not. Today, these types of troops use ordinary sailor vests with stripes of white and dark blue.
Along with vests of different colors, the Russian troops also use berets of several shades, from orange to black and green. Often, berets are part of the dress uniform or are issued to military personnel for some merit (for example, after passing sports standards). That is, the right to wear a beret often needs to be earned through hard work or some heroic deed.
Although vests are now used for everyday wear by many troops, only those with dark blue or light blue stripes can be called a classic naval vest (such vests are worn by Navy sailors and paratroopers).
On August 19, Russia celebrates the birthday of the Russian vest. It was on this day in 1874, on the initiative of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich Romanov Emperor Alexander II signed a decree on the introduction of a new uniform, by which a vest (a special “underwear” shirt) was introduced as part of the mandatory uniform of a Russian sailor.
Workers of the sea and river fleet have their professional holiday annually on the first Sunday of July.
How the vest used to look, what the stripes are like and what their color means, see the infographics from AiF.ru.
History of the vest
The vest appeared during the heyday of the sailing fleet in Brittany (France), presumably in the 17th century.
The vests had a boat neckline and three-quarter sleeves and were white with dark blue stripes. In Europe at that time, striped clothes were worn by social outcasts and professional executioners. But for Breton sailors, according to one version, a vest was considered lucky clothing for sea voyages.
In Russia, the tradition of wearing vests began to take shape, according to some sources, in 1862, according to others, in 1866. Instead of narrow jackets with uncomfortable stand-up collars, Russian sailors began to wear comfortable flannel Dutch shirts with a cutout on the chest. Under the shirt, an undershirt was worn - a vest.
At first, vests were issued only to participants of long-distance hikes and were a source of special pride. As one of the reports of that time says: “lower ranks... mainly wore them on Sundays and holidays when going ashore... and in all cases when it was necessary to be smartly dressed...”. The vest was finally established as part of the uniform by an order signed on August 19, 1874 Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich. This day can be considered the birthday of the Russian vest.
The vest has a great advantage over other underwear shirts. Fitting the body tightly, it does not interfere with free movement during work, retains heat well, is convenient to wash, and dries quickly in the wind.
This type of light sea clothing has not lost its importance today, although sailors now rarely have to climb the shrouds. Over time, the vest came into use in other branches of the military, although in few places it is an official part of the uniform. However, this item of clothing is used both in the ground forces and even in the police.
Why is the vest striped and what does the color of the stripes mean?
The blue and white transverse stripes of the vests corresponded to the colors of the Russian naval St. Andrew's flag. In addition, sailors dressed in such shirts were clearly visible from the deck against the background of the sky, sea and sails.
The tradition of making stripes multi-colored was strengthened in the 19th century - the color determined whether a sailor belonged to a particular flotilla. After the collapse of the USSR, the colors of the vest stripes were “distributed” among the various branches of the military.
What does the color of the stripes on the vest mean:
- black: submarine forces and marines;
- cornflower blue: presidential regiment and FSB special forces;
- light green: border troops;
- light blue: Airborne Forces;
- maroon: Ministry of Internal Affairs;
- orange: Ministry of Emergency Situations.
What is guy?
In the navy, a guy is called a collar that is tied over the uniform. The real meaning of the word "guys" (from the Dutch geus - "flag") is a naval flag. The flag is raised daily on the bow of ships of the 1st and 2nd ranks during anchorage from 8 a.m. to sunset.
The history of the appearance of the guy is quite prosaic. In the Middle Ages in Europe, men wore long hair or wigs, and sailors wore their hair in ponytails and braids. To protect against lice, hair was smeared with tar. To prevent tar from staining their clothes, the sailors covered their shoulders and back with a protective leather collar, which could be easily wiped clean from dirt.
Over time, the leather collar was replaced with a fabric one. Long hairstyles are a thing of the past, but the tradition of wearing a collar remains. In addition, after the abolition of wigs, a square cloth collar was used for insulation - in cold windy weather it was tucked under clothes.
Why are there three stripes on the butt?
There are several versions of the origin of the three stripes on the butt. According to one of them, three stripes symbolize three major victories of the Russian fleet:
- at Gangut in 1714;
- at Chesma in 1770;
- at Sinop in 1853.
It should be noted that sailors from other countries also have stripes on their butts, the origin of which is explained in a similar way. Most likely, this repetition occurred as a result of borrowing the form and legend. It is not known for certain who first invented stripes.
According to another legend, the founder of the Russian fleet Peter I there were three squadrons. The first squadron had one white stripe on its collars. The second has two stripes, and the third, especially close to Peter, has three stripes. Thus, the three stripes began to mean that the naval guard was especially close to Peter.