Plus Size Cruise Wear: Hot Sailor Striped Tops

Oct 5, 2010
Christina Gregoire

Stripe Hoody Plus Size - Bonmarché UK

Sailor stripes were in last spring and stripes are hot for next spring. Boaty fashions are never out of style and that's why we like them.

If you are one of the lucky Baby Boomer women who is retired, you will soon find out how much you like to cruise. It’s like an all-inclusive resort, as long as you don’t go crazy gambling, playing bingo, drinking, or shopping. And, yes…I know that takes a lot of the fun out of it, but cruising is the best travel bargain around. And, if you can find a nice repositioning cruise, the bargains become unbelievable.

Of course, the floating hotel has all this for one price:

food
games/activities
swimming pool
dancing
24-hour room service
Broadway-style shows: Some are better than others, but they are a lot better than any Broadway show in your neighborhood, unless you live in Manhattan. I also want to let you know that the end of summer is the best time to find cheap daytime cruise wear.

So, you should make sure you are signed up to receive email deals from all of the cruise-line websites.

Striped Tops

You can wear horizontal stripes. There was a study done with horizontal stripes two years ago, that proved fashion experts wrong, so don't give up on stripes. And, stripey tops just happen to be the perfect thing to wear on cruise ships. (You can wear whatever makes you comfortable, but if you want to look smart, pick up a cheap sailor striped T-shirt or two when you see them on sale.)

Spring Stripes

Stripes were all over the runways for spring/summer 2011. I know you don’t really follow high fashion because those clothes are usually so off-the-wall, but it’s nice to know that, if you don’t end up shipboard this winter, you can still wear your sailor stripes and be fashionable. Here are a few examples of different types of stripes for spring:

Bright Marc Jacobs Spring Stripes
Prada Spring Stripes: No, you don't have to wear monkeys.
Sportmax Stripes Spring

So, I think your inexpensive striped T-shirts will fit in nicely with all the other stripes. And, you can add your own monkeys later.

OldNavy.com

This is one of my favorite websites for travel clothing because if I spill something on these clothes…I don’t get stressed out. In fact, when I travel, I like to bring cheap tops and dresses, along with some of my favorite go-to outfits. A lot of the goodies are on sale:

Women’s Striped Boat-Neck Tee ($10)
Women’s Plus Striped Boat-Neck Tee
Women’s Plus Rosette Dobby Tunic ($17.40)
Gap Navy Stripe Top in XXL

Talbots.com

You might check around Talbots to see if they have more things on sale, later. Their earnings were down, so keep on top of this to see if they want to entice you back to their website:

Boat-Stripe Tee ($16.99)
Talbots Striped Cardigan
Spinnaker-Stripe Tee

Faith21 at Forever21.com

The only reason I stopped shopping in junior’s departments was that the clothing was too small. But, now everyone has plus-size juniors. I wonder if the designers know that adult women are also shopping in the teen department.

Striped Knit Tank ($13.80)
Striped Rib Knit Top ($13.80) No ripped jeans for adults.

Missphit.com

These aren’t on sale, but they might be worth trying.

Sailor Top
Ruffle Racer
Sailor Shrug

Macys.com

I know there are a lot of striped tops that have flowers and other designs printed over the stripes, but they are not classic and are not as good for sailing the ocean blue. Those “printed” striped tees will look dated soon. So, if you have those, you should wear them now.

Charter Club Plus Size Top ($11.99)
Mon Amie Plus Size Top
Style&co. Plus Size Top: This has striped trim. And, I like the red or black styles better for cruise wear, but the color shown goes well with navy or black.

JCPenney JCP.com

Stripes are one of the easiest prints to mix-and-match with other patterns, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

St. John’s Bay Boatneck Top: I really like the stripes in the photo, but there are lots of other striped options in this tee.
SJB Active Thermal Tee
Striped Hoodie

Target.comTarget, as you know, is a great store for inexpensive tops.

Merona Ebony/Gray Scoop-Neck Tee
Merona Ebony/Gray V-Neck Short-Sleeve Basic Tee ($10)
Juniors Plus-Size Pure Energy Black/White Short-Sleeve Fashion Top

If you don’t get something and you find a fab cruise, you may be kicking yourself for not buying a nice sailor striped top or two. White-and-striped tops always look best when they are new, so stash your bootie in the bottom drawer for your trip (or for wearing next spring).

I want to add Ann Taylor Loft. They have some cute striped tops, and it doesn't cost anything to look around.