Amish Anderson writes about fashion, food, travel, travel and culture for the Wall Street Journal
muslin. Researches. The movie “Captain America”. If none of these concepts connect you to polo shirts, you may have missed one of the most interesting developments in menswear.
For a long time, polo shirts were casual, casual wear—or worse, something you get for free at tech conferences. But now they are undergoing a revival. In recent months, actors like Michael B. Jordan and Chris Evans, who plays the character “Captain America” in the “Marvel Cinematic Universe”, wore the provocative versions of the shirt.
Last June, Evans caused quite a stir in men’s fashion blogs when he arrived at the premiere of the film “Pain Hustlers” wearing a polo shirt decorated with brown and orange spots by the brand “Percival”. The shirt looked like the artist William de Kooning was trying to paint a cow.
A modern interpretation of Rene Lacoste’s polo shirt
The inventor of the modern polo shirt, René Lacoste, the French tennis champion from the 1920s, would have had difficulty familiarizing the shirts with the contemporary interpretation. The large collared shirts worn by polo players in India in the 19th century inspired the Lacoste polo shirt. His version, which also bears his name, was more elegant and stylish, made of pique fabric.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iMMDpKEpbE
The 2022 version polo shirt exudes an individual style. Men’s brands specializing in different niches – from street fashion to elegant clothes – produce variations of this shirt: the Mr. P brand designed polo shirts with a puffy collar.
Maison Margiela has designed a polo shirt in check fabric, which includes muslin at the waist (it looks better than it sounds, which is probably why it’s sold out). The polo shirt of the British fashion house JW Anderson has a huge elephant print.
Designer Nicholas Daley, whose Jamaican-Scottish heritage is evident in the clothes he designs, has designed a series of polo shirts together with the classic sports brand Fred Perry. One has ruched pockets and a corduroy collar; On another, the words “Fred Perry” are embroidered on the back in a bold font.
Daley, 32, says he wanted to “reinterpret the classic Fred Perry branding” and focus on “small details – for example, brass zippers. It helps elevate the product.” Such details, combined with striking stripes and colors – khaki and wine colors – create polo shirts for any occasion.
He adds: “You can wear this shirt to a business meeting in the day and to a concert in the evening.” Daly combines his shirts with “a hunting jacket, wide-leg jeans and a hat my mom made.”
What is the source of the appeal of the polo shirt?
Many designers play with the standard three buttons sewn into a polo shirt. Some shirts have buttons that reach up to the navel line, and others have no trace of buttons. Brands like Armory and Proper Cloth design shirts for work, with buttoned collars and cuffs, that are close to the tailored DNA of the original polo shirt.
The sleeves are tight and short (as in Evans’ shirt in question) or loose and long, almost to the elbow. There are many types of fabrics: from silk to wool. René Lacoste’s cotton lapel, it can be stated, is a thing of the past.
The variety of fabrics “is definitely part of the appeal of polo shirts,” says Rhys Moore, 66, CEO of the Ridgefield perfume company. Moore’s “summer uniform” includes linen shirts, but he recently started wearing polo shirts from an Atlanta brand Named Onward Reserve. Their stiff collars and subtle stripe prints make them more tailored. Therefore, they are more suitable for the workplace than the typical cotton shirts, he says.
Sid Shevran, an Atlanta designer, improved the look of his polo shirts by adding collar stiffeners, “like you would do with a tailored shirt,” he says. The result? A collar that stands alone and “looks great under a jacket”. He thinks that “these shirts are more tailored than a T-shirt or a sweatshirt, without being fussy.”
The movie that brought the polo shirt back into fashion
The shirts can be really fun, says Steve Shack, owner of a clothing store in Austin. A Japanese brand called Beams designed a polo shirt in tangerine orange with touches of brown and white, and the New York brand Barque designed a polo shirt with a flashy print. Shaq says that this style “takes us back to the Italian Riviera in the late 1950s. The look that characterized the movie “The Talented Mr. Ripley” is currently the strongest look in the menswear market.”
Andreas Klau, 42, a partner in a law firm from Malmö, Sweden, was inspired to wear a polo shirt by the 1999 film The Talented Mr. Ripley, directed by Anthony Minghella.
Like the hero in the film, Dickie Greenleaf (played by Jude Law), he regards polo shirts as clothing suitable for warmer weather. This summer he wears Resort Co polo shirts. “It’s a great clothing option, if you want to dance by the bar in the pool.”