Leave it to Anna: Touring the Saint James Factory Edition

In this edition I recap my visit to the Saint James atelier in Normandy - how to book, what you’ll see, what deals I found at the factory shop, and a secret lunch spot frequented by the staff.

Driving onto the factory compound, located on a site of a former U.S. air base

Visiting the Saint James factory in Normandy, France, has been on my bucket list ever since a helpful shopkeeper in Paris told me about it years ago. Saint James has been making traditional Breton striped shirts (or marinieres) since 1889 in the same vicinity that you can visit today. The small town of Saint-James in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel gave its name to the brand, which evolved from a workshop supplying water-resistant woolen sweaters to local fishermen to fashioning the iconic striped shirt beloved by East Coast prepsters as well as stylish Parisians on vacation. As NYT recently reported in an article titled, Why 50,000 Iconic French Shirts, Intended for America, Sit in Storage, Saint James has recently paused its shipments to U.S. stores, such as J.Crew and Nordstrom, due to tariff negotiations. On my tour, I was able to confirm with our guide that the U.S.-bound shirts were still in the nearby warehouse awaiting shipment. That said, the factory was buzzing with activity as we learned about how many steps (15!) go into making just one shirt - a process that takes 18 days from start to finish.