The designs on the face helped bring the character to life and express emotion without words. Street theatre and busking use mime as an art form. France's Striped Shirt and Beret: Origins of a Stereotype - ThoughtCo Mime is still popular because people see it as something different and interesting. Similarly, while traditional mimes have been completely silent, contemporary mimes, while refraining from speaking, sometimes employ vocal sounds when they perform. First Coco Chanel adopted it during World War I when cloth was difficult to find. At the time, all the French navy hailed from Brittany, so the shirt was coined the "Breton" shirt and displayed 21 stripes - one for each of Napoleon's victories against the British. Q. A mime wears a black and white striped shirt, black slacks, black shoes and white gloves. Got to cover up those guns fellas. Burglar stripes, as I remember them, were generally much broader than Frenchie stripes (comics would generally depict Frenchmen in narrow-striped jerseys, and berets), but I suppose, for the reasons given above, that that does not really have much significance. Is, or was, this common in the US too? Mimes usually have a manager or agent who handles all the business aspects of performing. why would the ancient Greeks have Worshipped Demeter. True prison stripe outfits include the pants where these burglar ones don't, and striped shirts are typical of various other groups (Apache gangs, mimes, rugby players, etc. Although the shirt pattern resembles prison stripes, I don't really see a connection. Marcel Marceau is arguably the most internationally famous mime, and his character Bip's striped shirt resembled the traditional "Breton stripe" shirt, originally a French naval sailor's uniform. Why do mimes wear striped shirts? Mimes painting the face white originated from stage shows dating back as far as 467 BC. draws away the neutrality of the image in this case the wall. Like Atlas Obscura and get our latest and greatest stories in your Facebook feed. He occasionally wore a pin-striped suit. Why do B&W striped shirts = French - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Enter a Melbet promo code and get a generous bonus, An Insight into Coupons and a Secret Bonus, Organic Hacks to Tweak Audio Recording for Videos Production, Bring Back Life to Your Graphic Images- Used Best Graphic Design Software, New Google Update and Future of Interstitial Ads.