Polo Shirt History

When researching polo shirt history, the first article we found indicated to us that the polo shirt was well and truly entrenched in US fashion by 1930. The article which follows, was published in the Syracuse Herald, Wednesday July 23, 1930 and was titled; “Berets and Polo Shirts Find Place in He-Man Wardrobe”.

“The polo shirt is another more or less recent innovation as an article of popular fashion, and the wearing of same signifies no greater knowledge of the game then in the relationship between knicker-bocker pants and golf, and the shirt has gone strong in Syracuse, according to local merchants, just as it has taken the rest of the nation by storm this season.

Mere man apparently favours gay pastel colours too, since those who sell polo shirts testify there is more demand for green, blue, red, the variety of so-called canary yellows and buff, than for white.”

It's Polo Shirt History - Not Tennis Shirt History

The editor who wrote the article on the tennis shirt for Wikipedia needs to do more research on polo shirt history when he insists that the generic name for the polo shirt is tennis shirt. The article has further errors when it implies that Lacoste is responsible for the modern day polo shirt.

Lacoste first marketed his shirt in France in 1933 and the US in 1951. The notable difference between the Lacoste shirt and the polo shirt was the longer tail of the Lacoste. To claim or imply that Lacoste was somehow the inventor of the polo shirt is insane.

Fashion Encyclopaedia
Gets Polo Shirt History Wrong Too

But if Wikipedia got polo shirt history wrong so too did Fashion Encyclopaedia. They absurdly state in their web site: “The phrase 'Lacoste shirt' came to be a generic alternative term for a tennis or polo-style shirt.”

The following is a summary of the number of various versions of the polo shirt that sellers listed on eBay September 2006:

The above results are a good indication that “polo shirt” is the generic name. All it takes is a little research. Just a shame Wikipedia and Fashion Encyclopaedia didn't do a little of their own.

Polo Shirt History - Origin Unknown
But Dates Tell It All

Polo players wore thick long sleeve shirts made from oxford cotton and the exact origin and date of the new, much cooler, less restrictive polo shirt is unknown.

From newspaper archives we researched "new line polos" were first advertised in August 1887.

1887 – August, ads appear in The News, Fredrick Maryland. “Just the thing for hot weather, new line polos”.

1893 – From the Magazine, Economy & Business September 1, 1986 - the new version of the polo made it’s debut in 1893 when worn by players from the Hurlingham Polo Club near Buenos Aires. Could this be the first bona fide sports shirt?

1920 – Lewis Lacey opens a sports store in Buenos Aires selling the new style polo shirts with the logo of a polo player astride a pony. Most likely the first time a logo has been used commercially. This information was taken from Time Magazine September 1986. (Ralph Lauren introduces a polo shirt in 1972 with depicts a polo player but from a different angle).

Find more details and supporting evidence.

Wikipedia Polo Shirt History
Wrong Again

From the Wikipedia:

Quote

Before Lacoste’s 1929 invention of the tennis shirt, polo players wore thick long sleeve shirts made from Oxford cloth cotton…..

Unquote

They gave up wearing them long before 1929.

Wikipedia go on to say that polo players copied the Lacoste tennis shirt. More likely the other way around.

Wikipedia has a heading under History (of the tennis/polo shirt); which reads "origins in tennis".

The polo shirt is an identity all of its own and under no circumstance can it be claimed that it had its “origins in tennis”.

Wikipedia claim that a polo shirt is a tennis shirt and Lacoste invented the tennis shirt so therefore, the modern day polo is a Lacoste invention.

Lacoste must have been more confused than Wikipedia when he advertised and sold the same shirt as a golf shirt.

Wikipedia Editor - Blind or Bias?

When the Wikipedia editor was challenged on the classification of the polo shirt he weaselled out. Saying that if anyone searched for polo shirt they would be redirected to “tennis shirt” and that was all that mattered.

Can we assume then, that correctness of the article is somehow irrelevant? I hope not Wikipedia.

In discussions, the editor also insists the generic name is "tennis shirt". There is absolutely no doubt as to the generic name it is polo shirt and when one speaks of a polo shirt the sport of polo never comes into context. The same can not be said when one speaks of the tennis or golf shirt.

More Polo Shirt History – More Confirmation

1930 – Going by the sketch (advertisement) in the Appleton Post Crescent the polo shirt has a place in women’s fashion. The image is of a young woman wearing a tweed skirt, polo shirt made of white jersey and hat for a casual outing. the image is titled "The Polo Shirt and the Indispensable Sweater". If you look at the sketch you will see that it resembles the modern day polo shirt - no doubt about it.

Sceptics claim that the polo shirt referred to in these early years was entirely different to the modern day polo shirt and I believe this sketch and the one above refutes their claim absolutely.

1933 – Rene Lacoste and Andre Gillier join forces and produce Lacoste Shirts.

1951 – In September 1986, Time Magazine publish details that Lacoste did not market into the US until 1951, which my research supports. David Crystal Inc., was given the license. It was marketed under the name of English tailor Jack Izod. It is incorrectly reported in some sites that in the same year (1951) Lacoste was the first to introduce a range of colours for the polo shirt. Various colours of the polo shirt were available as far back as the late 1920's. ( - see opening paragraphs)

1970 – The following advertisement appeared in the Charleston Gazette dated June 4 and is an example of the Lacoste ads so far.

The ad was for GOLF shirts by Lacoste from Izod and read in part “Our status GOLF SHIRT, designed by Rene Lacoste is equally at home on the TENNIS courts or patio. Specially designed with long tail….” What makes this so interesting is the long tail, a definite “tennis” attribute yet it’s advertised as their status golf shirt.

1970 – The Preppy look is kind to polo shirt manufacturers again, with it’s popularity continuing through much of this decade. One of the most popular “must have” was by Esprit.

1986 – Time Magazine September, reports that Ralph Lauren discovers a Buenos Aires haberdasher, Alberto Vannucci selling polo shirts with a polo player logo. Ralph Lauren accuses him of copying his trade mark.

Although Vannucci pointed out that it was the logo designed by Lewis Lacey in 1920, Ralph Lauren filed suit in the Buenos Aires Court charging Vannucci with trade mark similarities.

This confirms the commercial use of a logo 13 years prior to Lacoste. Many web sites contribute the first commercial use of the logo to Lacoste in 1933.

Recent Polo Shirt Events
Make
Polo Shirt History

2001 – Christopher Lemaire, a new appointment at Lacoste introduces a limited edition black Lacoste polo shirt with a silver crocodile.

2006 - The Preppy look is definitely in style for girls and boys. Proudly sporting pressed trousers and their Lacoste, Nautica, Ralph Lauren or Tommy Hilfiger polo shirts, kids all over the US look preppy perfect.

Other popular brands are Abercrombie & Fitch, Banana Republic, Diesel, Versace etc. etc. etc.

Fashion Polo Shirt First – Athletic Shirt Second

The polo shirt is worn by many more “out and about” people, doing mundane, social and semi-professional commitments of their day then worn in an athletic context.

It is worn by many school children, retailers, factory workers (uniforms), small business office staff, club & bar staff, high tech industry personnel and some private practicing professionals such as Doctors and Dentists.

Polo Shirt History
Research Gets It Right

The above mentioned news items, advertisements and images, as published in various print mediums demonstrate beyond ridicule that the lighter weight cotton polo shirt was well embedded in casual wardrobes in the US before the Lacoste tennis shirt was produced in France in 1933.

We have also demonstrated that it was available in various colours and a logo was used commercially many years prior to the claims made by Lacoste and a large number of other sites.

There are over 100 sites that claim the Lacoste tennis shirt of 1933 was the forerunner to the modern day polo shirt. But it is impossible to argue with facts and what this site has done is set out the facts.

If you take your history from the Ralph Lauren web site, the polo shirt was not at all popular until 1972 when he entered the market. Many sites report that the Lacoste shirt was popular in the 1960’s, however, how popular is difficult to confirm.

Find more details and supporting evidence here.

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