The Iconic Polo - From Formal Sports Uniform to a Preppy Sportswear Classic

he polo shirt is one of the most iconic pieces of menswear. Starting out on polo fields of the mid-19th century, the polo shirt has evolved from a formal piece of sports uniform to a preppy sportswear classic. Like most garments, the design of the modern-day polo shirt was grown from utilitarian needs that has made its way into mainstream fashion.

The earliest known roots of polo tops reach back as far as 6th century BC and the modern form of the horseback sport can be traced back to the 19th Century India. British military men stationed in Manipur, a state in Northeast India, adopted polo from Indian natives and brought it back to the U.K. where it became associated with wealth, royalty, and the upper-class.

A pioneer of polo shirts and looking to improve the practicality of this design was French tennis star René Lacoste, nicknamed “The crocodile”. Finding tennis whites restrictive, he designed a white, short-sleeved, piqué cottonshirt with a flat protruding collar, a buttoned placket, and a shirt tail longer in back than in front. He wore it for the first time at the 1926 U.S. Open championship. After retiring from tennis in 1933, he began mass-marketing such polo shirts for tennis. 

La Chemise Lacoste was not the first brand to popularise the knitted polo shirt. Independent makers and brands like John Smedley had already capitalized in on René Lacoste’s revolutionary design. But it was Lacoste’s formidable reputation and playful crocodile branding that made his tennis shirt so desirable.

The knitted tennis shirt remained in fashion throughout the 1960s, resonating especially with college students who wore their Lacoste shirts under their college sports jackets. Advancements in technology saw polyester rise in popularity and eventually replace knitted pique cotton in the mass-production of tennis shirts. This new fabric was less prone to fading, wearing, or bleeding in the wash, making it ideal for daily wear and sports use.

One person who didn’t favour the new polyester tennis shirts was Mr. Ralph Lauren, a young designer in the early stages of establishing his Polo brand. In a bid to produce the ideal knitted pique cotton tennis shirt of times-past, Ralph Lauren launched his version of the tennis shirt in 1972. Coming in 24 colours, Polo Ralph Lauren marketed the shirt with the tagline “it gets better with age”.

Despite the benefits of polyester, the Polo Ralph Lauren shirt overtook all others as the exemplary knitted tennis shirt. Embroidered with the iconic polo-player motif, it wasn’t long before Polo Ralph Lauren’s knitted shirt became simply known as the polo shirt. The polo shirt has remained Polo Ralph Lauren’s most popular product for nearly fifty years.

Falling between a t-shirt and a shirt, it’s the perfect garment for the many events in life that aren’t at all formal but are not casual either. It’s a great shirt for backyard BBQs, and when you’re not sure exactly where the plans for your day or evening will take you. Far from being bland uniform, or only worn by one type of man, polos have been popular with widely varied groups, from yachtsmen to golfers, lifeguards to maintenance men and they can be worn and styled in many ways.

Polo shirts are incredibly comfortable to wear, breathable, easy, comfortable essential when employees work long hours. They're also breathable, so your employees won't get too hot while wearing them. In addition, they don't restrict movement and are durable enough to withstand spills and other accidents.

This year, Studio 104 was approached by the iconic IKOS Porto Petro resorts to design and develop their entire hotel, which included a stylish and functional polo top to be worn by their beach boys and pool staff for their new resort which was opening in Mallorca. The staff would to be wearing this polo all day in high temperatures, lifting and moving sun beds and generally having a highly physical role within the resort. We knew that we would need to ensure the fabric and design was perfect to accommodate their roles.

We used a technology called XTRA COOL, this yarn is made from a propeller shape with a hollow cross section which improves thermal isolation and water absorption during sport training, helping to reduce the body temperature. It also hosted superior properties of moisture management, wicking and drying speed. We knitted this into a piquet knit, the piquet structure transports sweat to the exterior of the garment making it quick drying, breathable and ideal for intense activity.

Though the client wanted the fabric to be lightweight and breathable we had to be very careful with the weight of thefabric, ensuring that white does not become sheer.

After an inspirational trip out to the resort, the design team were inspired by the natural textures, Mediterranean architecture, and island hues which they intrinsically intertwined this into the collection making it one of our most successful. The design team paired the polo with some stylish stone coloured chino shorts and it looked equally stylish worn tucked in or out.

This project was hugely successful due to the combination of having a clear brief from our client, state of the art technology, talented designers and the desire to make this perfect by our Product Development team this garment was transformed into a luxury garment perfect for its end use.

Our production team then flew out to Mallorca to fit the garments to the staff and this piece was the favourite, the staff were so happy due to the comfort, colours, quality, and functionality it was a winner.

Below find some images of our model wearing the final look at the Studio.

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To discover more Studio 104 bespoke wardrobe projects visit our portfolio page, and to learn more about our 104 Collection head here.

Written by Christine – Senior Product Developer

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