Monday, May 9, 2016

The Polo Shirt – Every Man Should Own One


Buying Guides


Preferably more. Here are 13 top picks












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Clothes talk, and polo shirts say, “I am out of the office”. But the staple of a casual outfit had more auspicious beginnings. The celebrated French tennis player René Lacoste first introduced the polo shirt, but only for the tennis courts. Pre-polo, tennis players wore long-sleeved white shirts and ties, until the seven-time Grand Slam winner Lacoste started playing in a short-sleeved shirt in a lightweight, breathable cotton with an unstarched collar, which was stiff enough to sit up and protect the neck from the sun.


Polo players rapidly saw the shirt's potential for bringing ease of movement to their own sport, and the polo short has since become one of fashion's most iconic items and one which forms the centerpiece of a classic, can't-go-wrong casual outfit in warm weather – polo shirt, shorts, deck shoes (sans socks) and sunglasses.


In our roundup of the best of the current crop, we naturally give a nod to its inventor with a blue-and-white striped cotton number from Lacoste. Joining Lacoste in the luxury bracket are Y3, Hackett and Maison Kitsune, but there are also options from as little as £22 from the likes of River Island, Next, Debenhams and Criminal at House of Fraser. Of course, you'll find the classic range of block colours – red, blue, green and yellow – as well as stripes, but we're a big fan of Pretty Green's outstanding Paisley Twyford print.


Criminal



Criminal pink polo shirt and shorts


pink polo shirt £25, and shorts £45, buy on houseoffraser.com


Duck and Cover mixed striped polo shirt



Duck and Cover mixed striped polo shirt


£45, buy on duckandcover.co.uk


Y-3 cotton piqué polo shirt



Y-3 cotton piqué polo shirt, £75, mrporter.com


£75, buy on mrporter.com


Hackett slim-fit cotton polo shirt



Hackett slim-fit cotton polo shirt


£110, hackett.com


Maison Kitsune contrast-tipped cotton piqué polo shirt



Maison Kitsune contrast-tipped cotton piqué polo shirt


£105, buy on mrporter.com


Sunspel cotton piqué polo shirt



Sunspel cotton piqué polo shirt, £80, mrporter.com


£80, buy on mrporter.com


Lacoste striped cotton polo shirt



Lacoste striped cotton polo shirt, £95, mrporter.com


£95, buy on mrporter.com


Weekend Offender yellow polo top



Weekend Offender yellow polo top


£50, weekendoffender.com


River Island red patterned polo shirt



River Island red patterned polo shirt


£22, buy on riverisland.com


RJR tri-colour polo shirt



RJR tri-colour polo shirt


£35, debenhams.com


Pretty Green Paisley Twyford polo shirt



Pretty Green Paisley Twyford polo shirt


£50, buy on prettygreen.com


Jigsaw Ottoman stripe polo shirt



Jigsaw Ottoman stripe polo shirt


£79, buy on jigsaw-online.com


Next striped polo shirt



Next striped polo shirt


£25, next.co.uk




Gary Kingsnorth

9 May 2016

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