How a tennis champion’s quest for comfort rebranded the polo shirt
In short: Before it was a fashion staple, the polo shirt was a functional solution to the cumbersome 'tennis whites' of the early 20 Mutually exclusive of style, its design solved specific athletic problems, from wind-blown collars to overheating players.
In the early 20th century, tennis players competed in stiff, long-sleeved white button-up shirts, flannel trousers, and ties. This heavy attire was notoriously uncomfortable and difficult to move in. Seeking a more breathable alternative, French seven-time Grand Slam champion René Lacoste reimagined the garment. He developed a short-sleeved shirt made of a loosely-knit piqué cotton, which he called jersey petit piqué. This new design featured an unstarched, flat, protruding collar and a 'tennis tail'—a hem longer in the back than the front to prevent the shirt from pulling out of trousers during play.
The shirt's features were purely utilitarian. The short, cuffed sleeves prevented the fabric from rolling down, while the piqué collar could be turned up to shield the neck from the sun. By 1927, Lacoste began adding a crocodile emblem to the left breast, a nod to the American press's nickname for him, 'The Crocodile.' Following his retirement from professional tennis, Lacoste partnered with merchandiser André Gillier in 1933 to form Chemise Lacoste, bringing the design to Europe and North America.
While the 'tennis shirt' was the original intent, the term 'polo shirt' gained dominance largely due to Ralph Lauren. In 1972, Lauren marketed his 'Polo' line using the style to evoke a sense of 'WASPishness,' imitating the attire of polo players. His branding, which featured a logo of a polo player and pony, helped cement the name. Today, the garment has branched into various forms, including the 'golf shirt,' which often features a deeper placket and pockets for scorepads, and even a dress-length version known as a polo dress.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Polo shirt
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