Men’s Style Revival

One of the themes you will inevitably see running through this blog is based on my second post from Feb. 6 about the basics of a man’s wardrobe: how to collect them, what I recommend, and some relative costs. Today’s installment will focus on the “polo” shirt – with the quotation marks explained in a moment.

Another theme that I will expand upon later is the idea that every man can create and afford their own style. You don’t have to be the ultra-wealthy or -elite to have clothes that fit well and make you look good. In keeping with this, you will rarely see me recommend or suggest something in these posts that costs over $100 per item. There will be some unavoidable exceptions (such as shoes, coats, suits, etc.), but my pledge is to help as many people as possible develop an established and confident style, not just as many rich people as possible.

Anyway, back to the “polo” shirt. When people think polo shirt these days, the predominant thought is this:

And, perhaps, rightly so. These are Ralph Lauren Polo Shirts – with the horse-riding polo player as the insignia. But are these the first “polo” shirts – the orginal? No.

The reason I use quotes around “polo” shirt is because it was not originally designed for polo at all. More than 80 years ago, tennis player Réné Lacoste, concluding that modern tennis wear was too uncomfortable and restricting, designed a short-sleeve, half-button collared shirt for tennis wear.

It would not be for a couple of years of wearing this shirt that Lacoste would, using his common nickname of The Alligator, sew on the crocodile logo that is still universally well-known today. The shirt was mass-produced beginning in 1933.

Not long after, these shirts would be adopted into the sport of polo as part of their uniforms and on-field dress to provide comfort from the thick, long-sleeved garments they were so used to wearing. It would not be until the 1970′s that Ralph Lauren would introduce his Polo shirt to his line of clothing.

Many years after being incorporated by polo, designers of golf clothing would begin modifying the tennis/polo shirt to fit the shape and movement of golfers, and as you may have noticed, these shirts are now the predmominant fashion on the greens and have been for quite some time.

So the sports lineage, all in the last century, looks like this:

Tennis –> Polo –> Golf –> Preppy Beer Pong

I probably own about 15-20 polo shirts in various colors and patterns, but there are two that I distinctly prefer; Lacoste and H&M.

Lacoste we have discussed. It went through a revolutionary design after separating from Izod in 1993 and has become an icon of young, modern well-fit style that still remains casual. With shorter sleeves, a smaller collar and slim-fitting sides and underarms, it represents modern casual fit. When selecting a Lacoste shirt, remember that you will be looking at shirts with European sizes, so you will have to be familiar with how to translate – but if you buy from Lacoste’s online boutique, they assist you with providing both sizes.

These polos will run you about $70-90 typically, but a quick glance on their site shows that select colors are on sale for about $59.

That also brings up an excellent point about Lacoste – you will not be able to find another pallette of colors that rivals the Lacoste brand. Any color you want you can find.

H&M is known worldwide as a purveyor of inexpensive yet stylish, and sometimes fashion-forward, clothes. This Swedish brand has stores all over the world, including more than 150 in the U.S. alone.

In the same mold of the Lacoste polo, the H&M shirt provides slim-fitting comfort, albeit with a bit shorter sleeve. I have bought at least three in the past year and not paid more than $20 for any of them. A favorite I have is a black, mercerized cotton polo that is great for indoors as well as outdoors. (Mercerized cotton is simply cotton that has been treated to make it appear more vibrant)

There are plenty of other affordable, well-fitting polos out there that I have not discussed – produced by labels such as Gap, J. Press and Hickey (customizable at $120). I recommend you spend some time trying on dozens of them from different outlets, finding the size and fit that is right for you. When you find them – stock up. They’re never going out of style.