ENTITY · FASHION
Mesh marina (string vest / merino)
Probable
The perforated string vest, called 'marina' or 'merino' in Jamaica, adopted from a 1930s Norwegian army design and exported to the British Caribbean in the 1950s; suited to the heat, it became a staple of 1970s rude-boy dress and later a recurring look for reggae and dancehall artists (worn under an open button-up or in red, gold and green).
At a glance
- Type
- fashion
- Confidence
- Probable
- Era
- Open era →
Connections
Debate & reception
How people argued about the music — praise, criticism and public debate. See all debate & reception →
debate
Dancehall fashion and respectability
A neutral account of the fashion-respectability debate: revealing dancehall dress such as the batty rider and mesh marina is defended as self-expression and bodily autonomy, and criticised as indecency against respectability norms. Fashion terms are treated clinically. Sources: Carolyn Cooper, Noises in the Blood; Jamaica Gleaner archive; dancehall fashion documentation.
Stance: self-expression & bodily autonomy vs indecency & respectability norms