A BRAND, A LEGEND

Petit Bateau produces supremely comfortable fashion basics for children and adults alike. Respectful of the individual, and of the environment, the brand has been writing a beautiful history of cotton, in France and throughout the world, for the last 120 years. Petit Bateau garments are passed down from generation to generation, testimony of a fashion essential that is stylish season after season.

A LITTLE FRENCH BRAND

Petit Bateau is a lovely happy name. It is a name most French people will recognise from their childhood and the nursery rhyme which is passed down from generation to generation: “Maman les p’tits bateaux qui vont sur l’eau ont-ils des jambes ?” [Mummy, do the little boats which sail on water have legs?].

And it was this rhyme which was playing in the head of Petit Bateau founder Pierre Valton when he established the company in 1893, having had a bit of a crazy idea: to cut off the legs of traditional long johns to make the first cotton briefs for children which we all know and love.

100 YEARS OF THE PANTY

It was just a little thing. A simple snip of the scissors to the long (too long…) underwear of the time. That was 100 years ago. Petit Bateau had just invented the panty. Women’s lives would never be the same. The wave of freedom and comfort born that day continues on, light and lively, continually enhanced by our scrupulous expertise with knits and cotton.
For its birthday, Petit Bateau revisits the legend: the Original high-waisted panty in marinière stripes, the Child’s ruffled panty in milleraies stripes – celebrating Petit Bateau’s iconic stripes – and the Classic panty,collecting prints selected from our archives.
All aboard!

QUALITY

For Petit Bateau quality is not an empty promise. Ask any of its customers to tell you what springs to mind when they hear the name and you can bet it will be softness, childhood, clothes passed down from child to child and much, much more. Because a Petit Bateau garment is made to last. The t-shirts don’t lose their shape, snaps don’t budge, the cotton stays super soft… in fact, it looks even better with a bit of wear. And stringent quality tests at every stage of the production process, from the yarn to the end product, have always ensured it stays that way.

MILLION t-shirts

MILLION briefs

MILLION undergarments

MILLION products

Employees Worldwide

Retail outlets