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How did ‘Nantucket red’ become an island tradition?
The more romantically inclined might describe Nantucket’s signature hue as a “dusty rose” or a “sunset pink.” Candid folks may note the passing resemblance to a bad sunburn.
Providing an entree to the world of the old-money elite, 1980’s “The Official Preppy Handbook” immortalized — and satirized — certain stereotypes about Nantucket’s seasonal crowd.
They hail from the top prep schools of the Northeast and use “summer” as a verb. Their signatures are punctuated with a triumphant flourish of Roman numerals. And most importantly, when the weather is warm, they take their pants red.
Nantucket red, of course.
The more romantically inclined might describe Nantucket’s signature hue as a “dusty rose” or a “sunset pink.” Candid folks may note the passing resemblance to a salmon filet, or a really bad sunburn.
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“I don’t know how to describe it other than you know it when you see it. I mean, it’s just sort of got that distinctive fade to it,” said Niles Parker, executive director of the Nantucket Historical Association.
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“I’ve heard people call it salmon. I’ve heard people call it pink,” he said. “It’s sort of none of that — it’s just sort of Nantucket red, I guess.”
These days, you’ll see the color splashed across sweatshirts, baseball caps, overalls, and aprons. That’s in addition to classic Nantucket Reds, the brick-red cotton canvas pants meant to soften and fade with repeated wear and washing. And as fashionistas and islanders alike will tell you, there’s only one destination for authentic Nantucket Reds.
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Nantucket Reds got their start there in the 1960s, when second-generation owner Philip C. Murray introduced a canvas cloth reminiscent of the red-sailed boats off the coast of Brittany in France. According to a 2017 Racked article, Breton fishermen in the 1800s tanned canvas sails with tannins from tree bark to prevent mildewing. The subsequent red hue faded gradually with exposure to saltwater and sun, and fishermen reportedly used leftover canvas for clothing.
Murray’s product caught on in a big way, and soon vacationers were turning up to cocktail parties and yachting adventures wearing Reds. Perpetual menswear style icon President John F. Kennedy even sported some conspicuously red slacks on a summer golf outing in 1963.
By 1980, “The Official Preppy Handbook” was praising Murray’s as the “official outfitters for all island activities” and commemorating Nantucket Reds as a cornerstone of preppy summer attire.
So, why did the pants catch on the way they did?
“It’s kind of something that’s always mystified my grandfather and our family, but we’re very grateful for it,” said Lauren Murray Soverino, Philip C. Murray’s granddaughter.
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“I think it just is a really unique memento or token of knowing Nantucket and appreciating Nantucket — something that’s a little bit more versatile than, say, wearing a sweatshirt or a T-shirt or something,” she added.
Murray’s Toggery has been in the family for four generations, and Murray Soverino now runs the business with her brother and two of her cousins. Part of the Nantucket Reds appeal, she said, is the signature cloth that softens to the touch and fades in color over time.
“I think there’s also the idea that the longer you’ve had it, the more broken in and more desirable the color looks, so that also makes it somewhat of a collector’s piece for people,” Murray Soverino said.
A uniquely Nantucket tale
The Reds success story is a uniquely Nantucket one, as the historical association’s Parker explained. The red pants and made-to-fade cloth weren’t exactly a new innovation, he noted, but Philip C. Murray was “able to very cleverly brand it as something that became distinctly about this place, about Nantucket.”
Parker added: “I think Nantucket has a brand of its own that has a lot of staying power.”
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And just as Murray’s Toggery has remained a Main Street staple for decades, Reds are a lasting island tradition; they’ll even be featured in a Nantucket Historical Association textiles exhibit next year.
“It just seems like this is something that kind of gets passed down from generation to generation, like going to The Juice Bar for an ice cream cone or going to the Whaling Museum, or certain things that have become so ensconced into the Nantucket experience,” Parker said. “It does feel like Murray’s definitely has a place in that.”
Still, red pants in general can be as divisive as they are beloved. A 2021 article in The Wall Street Journal debated the matter, questioning whether Reds err on the side of cheesy, timeless, out-of-place, or all of the above.
“I find [Reds] to be very ‘mommy’s favorite toddler,’” Mike Quinn, an attorney from New York’s Hudson Valley, told the newspaper.
Others maintained that pairing Reds with casual attire can offer a fresh take on a classic. Jack Carlson, founder of Rowing Blazers, told WSJ the color “goes with almost everything” — much like a pair of jeans, only “more interesting.”
Tatler, meanwhile, offered two competing headlines: “Why do posh people wear red trousers?” and “Are red trousers the most grave fashion faux pas?”
Both Parker and Murray Soverino acknowledged some truth to the “posh” stereotype reflected in “The Official Preppy Handbook.”
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“I think that [Nantucket red] has kind of solidified itself in terms of East Coast and New England — certainly in the preppy crowd — as being its own neutral, just like any khaki would, or even a denim,” Murray Soverino said.
She said the shop still sees the sort of customers who’d fit right in at the yacht club, but they also get folks who work on boats and like Reds for their durability. Murray’s Toggery even counts President Joe Biden’s family among its loyal fans.
“We’ve got people that come over from all parts of the country, either first-time visitors or long-term returning customers,” Murray Soverino said. “Multi-generational families, people coming in to get their first pair of Nantucket Reds, just like their grandfather did so many years ago. We have a really good mix of all sorts of people that come in.”
And for the record, Murray Soverino said there’s no right or wrong way to style a pair of Nantucket Reds.
“I like people being able to have the freedom of expressing their own creativity through the clothes that they wear and the textiles that they put together,” she said. “But I’ve never quite seen Nantucket Red-on-Nantucket Red pulled off quite properly, like a Canadian tuxedo sort of thing. Still waiting to see that done right.”
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