Welcome back to the Gentleman's Gazette. Today,
we're going to learn all the there is to know about men's polo shirts.
♪ Gentleman's Gazette Theme Song ♪
This video is... [sigh in frustration, struggles with collar]
Can't do this! That's better! This video is actually a remake of a series that we
published back in 2016. To condense all that information into one video and to
update some quality standards. [Raphael, clip]: "Everything is
creasing because of it and that you really see every..." [Kyle]: Yeah.
Let's, uh, let's just leave it at that. Polo shirts are one of the most common and versatile
shirts worn today. And while every gentleman of style probably owns several in his wardrobe,
it can be difficult to find a polo that genuinely suits you and your
personal style. We hope that by learning about their history,
that you can identify quality and the best ways to wear them. You can derive
the greatest possible benefit from this classic menswear staple. The history of the polo shirt.
Obviously, we've had to truncate this history for time constraints, so if you'd like a more in-depth
take, be sure to watch our dedicated video on polo shirt history. The modern polo shirt can
trace its origins back, not surprisingly, to the sport of polo. Polo is an ancient game played on
horseback by two teams that use mallets to control a ball, and it was popularized in Europe through
the expansion of the British Empire. The standard polo uniform included a long-sleeved, and later,
a short-sleeved shirt, made of thick cotton with a broad, long collar; with the tabs of
the collar held in place by buttons. In the early 20th century, polo was extremely popular in the
English-speaking world, especially with social elites. In the 1925 book, "The Great Gatsby",
the entitled character Tom Buchanan is explicitly linked with the sport. Here, we introduce another
extremely popular sport into our story: tennis. Rene Lacoste was a gifted French tennis player
who revolutionized the traditional attire for the game; with the new short design heavily inspired
by traditional polo shirts. Unlike conventional tennis shirts, Lacroste did not have a full
button-up front and was a popover style. It was short-sleeved, and it was made of a lightweight,
cotton knit known as "cotton piquet." More on that later. Although designed primarily for tennis,
Lacoste continued to call his new shirt a "polo shirt" in recognition of its own origins. The
polo shirt took the tennis world by storm, but remained mostly an athletic garment until
after World War II, when it joined sport shirts and other leisure shirts as other
casual menswear items. Sean Connery wore a polo shirt as James Bond in the 1962 film
"Dr. No" and Alain Delon wore one with a jacket, no less, in the 1963 film "Any Number Can Win".
Polo shirts were even introduced to other sports, like when President Dwight D. Eisenhower wore one
when golfing. Fore! As polo shirts moved from the athletic to the fashion world, more clothing
manufacturers entered the fray - with Fred Perry, Brooks Brothers, Izod, Original Penguin, Polo
Ralph Lauren, and many others offering their takes on Lacoste's polo shirt, all contributing to the
contemporary ubiquity of polo shirts in menswear. The polo shirt today. With its remarkable history,
it's no surprise that polo shirts are so popular - still a regular sight on
the tennis court and golf course. Polo shirts are still an integral
component of the prep style, and for better or for worse,
"collegiate bro culture." Are we playing tennis in these polos or beer pong? Because
of their ability to appear relatively formal while still being casual and comfortable,
polo shirts are regularly worn in retail environments, as well as in business casual
offices and have basically permeated daily menswear - from suburban dads to iconic,
hip-hop stars, and almost everyone in between - because of their versatility and ability to
be worn with different types of trousers from jeans and chinos to dress pants. Polo shirts,
along with t-shirts, are one of the most common shirts worn by men today.
Polo shirt hallmarks and how to identify quality. Now, that we've learned how the polo came
to be, let's learn how to find the right polo for you. With so many companies making quality polo
shirts, how do you identify quality? Your first consideration will be materials. Traditionally,
polos are made of cotton. Although, nowadays, you can find examples made in wool, linen,
and even silk because they are cheap to make. Synthetic poles are also extremely common,
and while polo shirts made for athletic wear makes sense in synthetic performance fabrics,
for regular wear, we think nothing beats natural fibers. Which natural fiber is best
for you depends on how you want to use the shirt, and Raphael will help you make that
determination with our video on common polo shirt materials. Polo shirts are commonly knit
in one of two ways. You'll recall that Rene Lacoste's first polo shirt was pique knit.
This knit is both flexible and breathable and has a unique, waffled pattern. Jersey knit is
the other common polo shirt knit. Because of the tighter interlooping of the yarns, jerseys
has a smoother texture and often a more lustrous appearance, but also is not as breathable as pique
knit. Personally, I prefer pique knit, simply because I run hot so
breathability is pretty important to me. To learn more about knit polos,
be sure to check out our upcoming video. Most modern polo shirts are short-sleeved;
although the long sleeve polos, like the Friday Polo, have gained popularity in recent years.
Interested in the video on this subject? Let us know in the comments. Most polo
short sleeves are set in, with the seam at the shoulder that circles
around the armhole. More expensive polo shirts may use Raglan sleeves,
where the sleeve extends in one piece to the collar with an extended diagonal seam.
Raglan sleeves are intended to offer greater comfort and range of movement, but you may or may
not benefit from this added mobility, depending on what you're planning on doing in this polo shirt.
How does my form look for the next round of beer pong? Although, I wouldn't be surprised if Raphael
wanted to use champagne instead. Sleeve cuffs can have a basic hemp that simply drapes at the cuff,
or a welt or ribbed cuff that sits tighter around the arm. Because of different Stitch densities,
welt cuffs tend to be slightly more elastic than a rib cuff,
but they are otherwise very similar. Welt or ribbed cuffs tend to have a
slightly more trim and neat appearance, but if you find the basic hem more comfortable,
go for it. And when it comes to collars, almost all polo shirts have a soft-ribbed
collar that is sent broadly to encourage airflow. Unfortunately, these soft collars
are often flimsy, and they tend to wrinkle or to curl at the edges. Some companies offer collar
stays that you can glue onto your polo shirt to fix this problem, but we found that they don't
actually work very well. Instead, if possible, opt for a polo shirt that comes with an interlining
similar to that of a genuine shirt collar. Not only will these collars appear more neat and trim,
you can select different collar types for expanded styling options, such as classic, cutaway, spread,
and even button-down collars. Wow! Button-down collars on a polo shirt!
Just like the button-down collars worn by the original polo players. Like I said,
everything that is old is eventually new again. The placket of the polo shirt sits right at the
collar, and how is assembled considerably impacts quality. Basic plackets are often found on more
inexpensive polo shirts because less fabric and stitching are often used to make them,
as they are essentially made from the existing body of the shirt. Set-in plackets are also
very similar to basic plackets, but use more stitching on the buttonhole side of the placket,
giving it a tailored appearance. Set-on, attached plackets require more stitching and fabric because
the placket is sewn separate from the shirt and attached afterwards. Because of its interfacing,
this option offers a more rectangular and clean appearance and is usually found on expensive polo
shirts. Plackets can also be hidden. When it comes to buttons, polos can have anywhere from
one to six. Although, two or three is the most classic. Buttons can be made out of any material,
with plastic being the most common. Preston has a lot more to tell you about buttons,
including how to properly identify mother-of-pearl buttons. Meanwhile, the buttonholes themselves are
a great way to assess quality construction. Poorly-made buttonholes are sewn first,
and then cut, leaving buttonholes with a distorted appearance and lots of loose threads.
Now, while you shouldn't expect most polo shirts to have hand-sewn buttonholes,
quality machine-sewn buttonholes should be neat
and tidy with no loose threads. Some polo shirts will have a breast pocket.
But, unless you plan to actually carry something, like your sunglasses, we suggest skipping it.
It can spoil the shirt's lines, and with age, they often become saggy and wrinkly. Raphael
has even more tips and tricks on how to assess polo shirt quality in this video, but I'll share
a big one with you now. Taped shoulder seams. Look inside the shirt at the shoulder seam,
and you should see a strip of fabric reinforcing that seam. This reinforcement gives the entire
shirt stability and will help the shirt keep its shape during numerous washes. Now that you know
how to find the best polo shirt, how can you make it look the best on you? And with most
things in menswear: fit is king. We have an entire video just on this topic, but here are
the most important points. The most classic fit for a polo shirt will be comfortably fitted, with
the torso that implies an inverted-V silhouette without squeezing your midsection. A super tight,
slim fit might be trending now, and while it is a great way to show off your muscles,
it won't look good on most body types and isn't typical of classic style. The sleeves
should fall about halfway to two-thirds of the way between your shoulder and your elbow;
although, you can go somewhere shorter if you perform a more vintage look or longer for a more
contemporary look. The sleeve cuffs should sit securely without appearing loose and dangling,
but also without constricting the blood flow to your arms. If you can slide a finger between the
sleeve and your arm with ease, you're on the right track. Polo shirts should fit in the shoulder
similar to a dress shirt, but because they are mass-produced in more limited sizes, it can be
difficult to get a perfect fit in the shoulders. So, try different makers to get as corrective fit
as possible. The length of the polo shirt can be even more impactful, especially on whether
you prefer to wear them tucked or untucked. In an innovation going back to Rene Lacoste,
a classic polo shirt has a tennis tail and is longer in the back than in the front. This added
length was intended to allow for greater movement, while keeping the shirt neatly tucked-in.
If your polo shirt has a tennis tail, you should plan to wear it tucked-in. In a polo shirt without
tennis tails, the bottom hem should sit just below your belt line if you plan to wear it untucked,
or no more than halfway down your buttocks or your fly front if you plan to wear them tucked-in. It's
always a good idea to fully cover your tail, but if you're doing it with your polo shirt,
your shirt is a tad too long, and you should probably put on some pants. When it comes to
collar selection, the most versatile variety of collars will be those commonly found in menswear,
such as white, gray, navy, blue, green, as well as neutrals. Because polo shirts are so closely
associated with warm weather, they also look great in a range of spring and summer colors,
like yellow, pink, orange, and similar pastels. Ultimately, your polo color selection should
fit with your personal style. But, because polos are typical of a more casual look,
don't be afraid to have fun and experiment with bolder colors. Rafael is prepared an
entire list of do's and don'ts for styling polos in this video. I'll just highlight
a few egregious trends on his list that are definitely not in keeping with classic style.
Don't layer multiple polos at once because this look is simply visually overwhelming
and already appears dated. Similarly, while the members of Three 6 Mafia evidently cannot
remember a time where they weren't popping the collar on their polos,
["Poppin' My Collar" by Three 6 Mafia]
I do not feel like this is a very good look for most classic gentlemen, as is illustrated pretty
clearly at the start of this video. Finally, we need to end the trend of oversized logos on polo
shirts, because pretty soon that Ralph Lauren logo is going to be the same size of a real polo pony.
I have a lot more to say about logos and why men started wearing them in this video. How to
buy a polo shirt. Rphael has created a dedicated video on how to buy a polo shirt on your budget,
and we've made "Is It Worth It?" videos for several classic menswear polos,
like those from Lacoste and Sunspel and for brands that are famous for their polos,
like Ralph Lauren and Brooks Brothers. We hope that today's
video has taught you everything you could ever want to know about the
history, construction, and styling of polos. Let us know in the comments what
you look for in a polo while I run down how I style my polo in today's outfit. So,
today, I'm wearing a tan-colored polo from Ralph Lauren. I'm wearing that
untucked with dark-washed jeans and brown dress shoes and Fort
Belvedere socks. Finishing off the outfit, I'm pairing it with a great fragrance from Roberto
Ugolini. Check out the Fort Belvedere shop here for socks like these.
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