The polo shirt was invented at the beginning of the 20th century in India by the British ruling class, who needed a lightweight top to play polo in the hot climate. But it was thanks to a different sport that the polo shirt became really popular: in the 1920s, the tennis player René Lacoste, whose nickname was “Crocodile”, got tired of playing in stiff, longsleeved shirts and campaigned to get the rules changed so he could wear a polo shirt instead. Lacoste received so much attention for this that after ending his career he set up a fashion company, embroidered his logo on polo shirts and laid the foundation for an enormously successful global brand. Last year alone, every second two polo shirts with the iconic crocodile logo were sold worldwide.
Polo and tennis are probably up amongst the most elite sports, and so it was no surprise that the shirt made its way into everyday fashion via the establishment. At the end of the 1970s, polo shirts popped up at prestigious prep schools on the east coast of the US, where the scions of wealthy families were prepared for the Ivy League universities. Their look consisted of pastel-coloured polo shirtswith popped collars, chinos and loafers. Ralph Lauren adopted the look, and it wasn’t long before it had spilled over to Germany, putting in an early appearance at elite grammar schools in Hamburg. In 1979, a small publishing company issued the “Popper Rulebook” and the city probably still has the highest density of upturned polo shirt collars in Germany.
The polo shirt was firmly booted out of its comfort zone at the end of the 1980s by the hip-hop scene. Like many other stylistic codes from sportswear and the upper class, young hip-hop fans absorbed the look and put it in a new context: emblazoned with large designer logos, the polo shirt was now XXL, in some cases almost knee-length. The message was clear: anything you lot up there can do, I can do better – and without Daddy’s help.
Few people nowadays really want to look like a gangster rapper – or a rich kid, for that matter. But a mix of both types can add a nice edge and makes for a surprisingly contemporary masculine look. The loose cut adds a cool touch, while colour projects inner poise. These are both things we could all do with for the coming months, because who knows when we’ll be able to enjoy public life again to the full or whether we’ll be sent back to our home offices? In this uncertain world, one thing is clear: a polo shirt is always the right choice!
