subject: what is polo shirt and why it is so popular [print this page] what is polo shirt and why it is so popular
Polo players did have button down collars as far back as the late 19th century, but Lacoste's design-polo shirt was preferable. By the mid 1930s, most polo players wore Lacoste's design, and the name polo shirt stuck. The modern polo shirt may or may not feature a button down color, is most likely to be made of cotton knit, has two to three upper buttons and short sleeves. The polo shirt forms part of the traditional sportswear for several major sports. Tennis players still wear polo shirts, as do polo players and golfers. Rugby players also wear a variant of the polo shirt.
As dressing became less formal for men, the polo shirt migrated into popular culture as semi-casual wear. Ralph Lauren's brand Polo was helpful in setting the style of the polo shirt firmly in place in the 1950s. His brand and Lacoste's have been duplicated by numerous other designers, leading to a wide range of polo shirts available on the market. They've even become popular in school uniforms for privacy, and often Catholic schools. While most private schools in the 1970s insisted on boys wearing the more standard non-knit cotton button down, now many simply require a polo shirt in the color the school wears. In the 1980s, Lacoste brand polo shirts were for a time, a status symbol for both young men and women. Though you could certainly get less expensive polo shirts, wearing the Lacoste with its tiny alligator insignia on the chest was considered highly fashionable. It was associated with the 1980s "Preppy" look.
The modern polo shirt is still considered popular both in sports and for regular dressing. Men may prefer them to T-shirts since the collar makes them just a bit dressier. In addition to being made out of cotton knit, some polo shirts include silk or wool knits. The less expensive polo shirt is likely to be made of a cotton/polyester blend, although it may be worthwhile to pay a little more for a 100% cotton shirt over the blended shirt because it tends to breathe better. The polo shirt may feature a range of styles, comes in numerous colors, stripes or other patterns, and can be either long or short sleeve styles. In the mid 2000s, the polo shirt became preferable again for young men, possibly due to its being worn by some well-known sports heroes like Tiger Woods.
