CAYENNE-COLLAR-SHIRT-SHORT-SLEEVED FORESTGREEN-Goldenyellow-red ₉₂₅₉

Short-sleeved shirt with open notched Cayenne collar, button front, and straight hem. Light cotton gave comfort in humid air while allowing ventilation at the neck. Today it remains a standard warm-weather shirt. In French Guiana, where Eugène Le Moult lived, such collars were practical in the equatorial environment, leaving the neck open in heat while giving coverage against sudden sun or rain.


French Guiana’s forests were home to some of the world’s most dangerous wildlife: Bushmaster and Fer-de-lance snakes, Goliath tarantulas, black caimans, and jaguars. Clothing had to balance breathability with enough coverage to be practical in a setting where dense vegetation and dangerous animals were part of daily life. The Cayenne collar, leaving the neck cool but the body covered, reflected this adaptation.