On horseback – Style – Kommersant

The polo shirt has become one of the main basic elements of the men’s wardrobe. She impresses with her versatility. For more than a century of history, this thing has managed to migrate from the sports fields to the courts, finally establishing itself in the wardrobes of men around the world. We recall a brief history of the T-shirt with a collar.

The history of the polo shirt, as you might guess, began with a uniform for the sport of the same name. Despite the fact that the history of polo dates back to before our era, the sport gained worldwide popularity in the 1870s, when English soldiers brought discipline from the Indian colonies. The first variation of the polo shirt had little in common with modern models – it was an elongated button-down shirt, which was first sewn from wool and later from cotton. In 1896, American designer John Brooks (one of the founders of Brooks Brothers) saw players fasten their shirt collars with buttons. Brooks was inspired by this concept and created the first shirt with buttons on the collar – this is how the button-down model was born.

The modern version of the polo shirt comes from tennis. Tennis player René “Crocodile” Lacoste decided to improve on the standard tennis uniform and instead of the classic white shirt, in 1929 he introduced a button-down polo shirt with short sleeves, sewn from pique cotton. On the left chest, Lacoste applied a patch in the form of a crocodile, giving the world the first, original Lacoste polo. After retiring as a tennis player, Lacoste focused on the production and sale of polo shirts. His colleague Fred Perry followed suit. Now Fred Perry and Lacoste have become synonymous with classic cotton polo shirts.

However, these shirts became really popular after 1967, when the American designer Ralph Lauren got down to business. He saw the designs created by Lacoste and Perry, returned the shirt to its place on the polo field, and even created a logo with a player on a horse with a stick. This is how the Polo Ralph Lauren brand was born, which made the shirt iconic. Pretty quickly, it became an important element of preppy style: Ivy League students introduced the polo shirt into their looks, replacing the classic cotton button-down shirts with it.

Over time, representatives of other subcultures and disciplines also noticed polo. Golfers turned to the polo shirt, modernizing it over time: many “sporty” versions of the polo shirt are made from high-tech breathable fabric that dries quickly. In the 1990s, American rappers took notice of Polo Ralph Lauren and began wearing oversized polo shirts. In Europe, casual wearers, including football fans, also took notice of the polo shirt and wore it with jeans and sneakers or trainers. Now the polo shirt can be found almost anywhere: in the office with a suit, on the street with jeans or chinos, or even in the lenses of street photographers – as part of a complex look. Oversized models made of cotton, more formal ones made of silk, the so-called long-sleeved rugby shirts – polo shirts have many variations, so it will definitely not be difficult to find your own.

Ilya Petruk