Wear with slim tapered or pleated trousers to keep the silhouette trim or floaty wide legs to tap into that 1950s Hollywood chilling on the lot vibe, with a luxe suede jacket over the top as we move into the chillier months. The deep V of the collar and the high cut of the sleeves on some options also make them a flattering shape for those with a toned upper body (the Rock has been seen rocking the style recently). Tucking into chino shorts lends the knitted polo the air of Armie Hammer in Call Me By Your Name, but like Armie make sure to opt for a neutral beige so the shirt can really stand out. If the summer continues way into September then I’d be quite happy tucking one of them into shorts for the office too.” “Dunhill’s contrast-placket versions have a 1960s vibe in two colourways that are very much in my palette, while Berluti’s have a tailored fit to them made from 100 per cent silk that they style on the runway with cropped trousers. “I’m not really a full suit and tie kinda guy but if the occasion calls for a blazer then I’d most likely layer a knitted polo underneath. “Knitted polo shirts are great for event dressing,” says Chris Hobbs, mens fashion editor at. And that should be all the proof you need of its timeless good looks.Īlain Delon, The Girl On A Motorcycle, 1968 How To Style a Knitted Polo Shirt

If it’s something you could imagine Alain Delon or Dickie Greenleaf in then you’re on the right tracks. It might look a little like something your gran could conjure up with her knitting needles (menswear designer of the year 2018 goes to nana). The fabric will cling a little to your upper body and have a markedly different feel – soft and cushy as opposed to the hard wearing pique. The knitted polo is hard to define – most modern polo shirts are made out of a cotton knit anyway but for the most part it will have loosely ribbed sleeves and hem, soft, three-buttoned plackets (or no buttons at all) that fly out wider than your ordinary polo shirt, a taper to the waist and a cut higher than a regular polo just above the waistband of your trousers. Now it’s not thought of as a stuffy heirloom from a bygone era but rather as one of the easiest ways to bring timeless elegance to your outfit. It seems to jump generations, the 1990s were surely too busy jumping around in cargo pants. Your dad probably wore a knitted polo shirt in the 1970s and his dad before him in the 1950s.

When we think of the polo we might cast our mind to the pique cotton options sold by Lacoste and Ralph Lauren, colour blocked and still essentially grounded in their sporty origins with a mesh finish to wick away the sweat.īut recently designers have championed new ways to wear polo shirts, including a reassessment of textured styles.

Ever since unruly tennis legend Rene Lacoste cut off the forearm sleeves on his button-down shirt to get an edge on court, the tennis shirt (later to be known as the polo shirt) has been one of the most popular garments in the menswear wardrobe.

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