The Polo Shirt
The term itself is laden with misnomer—and it's not just that hardly anyone in a
polo shirt is anywhere near a polo field. What we call polo shirts first gained
currency on the tennis court. Of course, they are now acceptable on the golf course
and on any number of summer sporting fields as well as in most casual settings and
even many workplaces. Forget that few people play polo in them. A better reason not
to use the term is polo players originally wore long-sleeved oxfords with
button-down collars that kept the flaps out of the players' faces as they sped
along on horseback. Nevertheless, we call them that and probably will for a long
time.
Credit tennis great René Lacoste with popularizing the form: a short-sleeved shirt
with a small placket at the neck and two or three buttons that made play less less
cumbersome than in long sleeves. Lacoste's design, which appeared in the 1920s,
included some tennis-specific details: an elongated tail in the back to help keep
the shirt tucked in during play and a wide collar that could be turned up against
the sun. In 1933, he formed La Chemise Lacoste and placed his signature emblem on
the breasts of the shirts. Most of us think of it as an alligator, but the logo is
meant to portray a crocodile after the tenacious tennis player's nickname (he never
let go of his prey).
What may preserve the term "polo shirt" is that one of the first popular garments
made by Ralph Lauren Polo is such a shirt, and, until recently, it always had a
polo player stitched on its left breast. The company now offers a customization
program on its Web site that includes not only the color of the shirt and the
embroidery and the choice of long or short sleeves, but the option to move the logo
or replace it with a monogram. We're not worried that people will start calling
them "monogram shirts."
While Lacoste's first shirts were made of rugged, absorbent cotton pique in
standard tennis white, the polo form has branched out over the years. Softer
cottons are a valid choice for casual wear and games in which perspiring is not
such as issue. Despite the general trend toward ultraluxury fabrics, we find
warming cashmere and silk polos sort of silly. While polyester has many uses, the
polo shirt is not one of them as the material isn't absorbent. We even suggest
wearing an undershirt to absorb perspiration and keep your polo from clinging.
White, of course, is no longer de rigueur, even on most tennis courts, and polos
have been offered in a range of colors for years. Gran Sasso's (pictured) bright
spectrum as well as choice of patterns appeal to our sense of play even as we're
still waiting to buy our first polo pony.
Visit www.lacoste.com, www.polo.com,or www.gransasso.com.
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