All About the Polo Shirt

Sportswear is defined as clothing for men and women that are composed of separate pieces from khaki pants and sports jackets to polo shirts and tennis skirts that can be combined in a variety of outfits that meet the dress code for both active and casual wear.

The shirt's design has its roots in the athletic pursuit of tennis - although polo players as well as golfers have also long incorporated them into their sportswear regimen.

Rene Lacoste was a French 7-time Grand Slam champion who became tired of the uncomfortable tennis whites that were the tradition tennis dress code. He designed a short-sleeved loosely-knit pique cotton shirt with an un-starched, flat protruding collar, buttoned placket and a longer shirt tail in the back that came to be known as the tennis tail. His use of the now ubiquitous crocodile logo to mark his shirts earned him the nickname "the Crocodile". The Lacoste brand began mass-producing the design in the 1930s.

Polo players soon caught on and began using this new design in their own uniforms. The term "polo shirt" was formerly used to describe the long-sleeved shirt that was the common dress code for polo players. The already popular term was then used by people to describe the new polo shirt starting in the 1950s even though the design was first used by tennis players back in the 20s.

Other designers like Ralph Lauren with his Polo Sport created their own versions of the polo shirt. Ralph Lauren's fashion line includes the long-sleeve polo shirt, perfect for casual dress code layering in colder climates.

The polo shirt has a very simple and traditional design that is rarely tampered with by those in the manufacturing business. If it isn't broken, why fix it?

It's basic design consists of a body with a round collar and short sleeves. It has no more than three buttons evenly spaced from the collarbone down and two small slits at the sides for ease of movement. The left side of the chest area is usually reserved for the polo shirt brand or company logo.

A variation on the classic style is used in sports activities such as badminton with the buttons missing from the equation. Some polo shirts also incorporate a pocket in upper left chest area.

Today, most versions are usually made of 100% knit cotton fabric for a casual wear dress code and a lighter, moisture-wicking fabric when used as sportswear. Other companies also use a variety of fabrics such as silk and polyester depending on their customer base.