Ralph Lauren Polo Shirts: Your Guide to the Original Icon

Ralph Lauren Polo Shirts: Your Guide to the Original Icon There’s branding, and then there’s the point at which your brand is so well embedded into the zeitgeist that the name becomes genericised with the product itself – Hoover, Velcro, Biro, Google et al. There’s a reason the word “polo” doesn’t just describe a shirt or an equestrian pursuit anymore – it has come to represent an entire wardrobe philosophy envisaged by one man. Ralph Lauren himself had never swung a mallet or sat on a polo pony in his life when he named his company in 1967. ‘Polo’ sounded like the life he wanted to sell. Six years later, that instinct produced the single most imitated garment in modern menswear. So with the brand’s 60th anniversary swinging round next year, we’ve produced the most comprehensive guide to the Ralph Lauren Polo shirt you’ll read anywhere. What Exactly Is a Polo Shirt? A polo shirt is a simple piece of engineering: a soft-collared, button-placket, short-sleeved knit shirt originally designed to solve a problem nobody has anymore – flapping collars mid-chukka. Ralph Lauren didn’t invent the garment. What he did was more valuable: he took a functional piece of sportswear and rebranded it as a symbol of taste. When the shirt launched in 1972, it came in 24 colourways at once – an almost reckless amount of choice for an era when men’s sportswear was still mostly white. That decision turned a simple mesh cotton shirt into a personal style statement, rather than just ‘kit’. Types of Polo Shirts Short Sleeve vs Long Sleeve Short sleeves are the summer default, but a polo-collar knit can do much the same work once the weather becomes less dependable. The Washable Wool Polo-Collar Jumper is the sensible long-sleeve bridge into autumn, while the short-sleeve Cotton Polo Jumper gives the same soft collar and easy smartness in a lighter, more trans-seasonal weight. The Fair Isle Polo-Collar Jumper, meanwhile, is for when the mercury drops and your wardrobe needs a little more character by way of a classic jacquard-knit. Mesh Piqué vs Jersey Piqué refers to a fabric with a textured knit, most often a waffle or honeycomb. It’s breathable, recognisably sporty, and holds its shape well. The Iconic Custom Slim Fit Mesh Polo is the benchmark here, tracing its construction back to the original 1972 design. Jersey, on the other hand, is altogether smoother and softer, and drapes more like a T-shirt. The Custom Slim Fit Soft Cotton Polo Shirt and Slim Fit Soft-Touch Polo Shirt both offer that more easy-going, close-to-the-body style that feels as good as it looks. Slim vs Classic vs Relaxed Fit Fit is everything, so pay attention at the back. Slim fit is cut closer through the torso and sleeve for a cleaner, more tailored silhouette, so if you’re not quite in the shape of your life, you’d be best advised to opt for a relaxed fit. The Slim Fit Mesh Polo Shirt is a natural choice if you’re slim and tend to wear your polos tucked in with tailored trousers or chinos. The Custom Slim Fit Stretch Mesh Polo Shirt is more forgiving and especially useful if you prefer a closer fit or are quite active. At the other end of the scale, the Relaxed Fit Mesh Polo Shirt has a more generous shape that works especially well untucked with linen trousers, drawstring shorts or washed denim. For something quietly different, the Standard Fit Textured Piqué Polo Shirt adds visual interest through its thick-gauge knit and sits at the mid-point between slim and relaxed. How Should a Polo Shirt Fit? Get the fit wrong and even the sharpest polo can make you look like you got dressed in the dark. These three checkpoints matter the most: - Shoulder seam: it should sit exactly on your shoulder bone, not drooping down the arm or pulling in towards the neck. Bang on the edge of the shoulder. - Sleeve length: it should land around mid-bicep; too long and it looks borrowed, too short and it looks shrunk, or worse, that you’ve over-trained your guns. - Body length: it should cover the waistband when you lift your arms, without falling so low that it bunches around the seat. Ralph Lauren’s range makes it easy to choose a silhouette that works with, rather than against you. The Iconic Slim Fit Mesh Polo and Slim Fit Mesh Polo Shirt are the cleanest options for sharper outfits; the Relaxed Fit Mesh Polo Shirt is the one to choose if you favour a looser trouser or want to wear it untucked. How to Wear a Polo Shirt As nice as Ralph Lauren polos are, the shirt itself can’t carry your entire look. What you put on with it is what separates great style from someone who simply got dressed. Polo, Chinos, Loafers Master this combination before any other because it covers more occasions than anything else in a summer wardrobe. A Slim Fit Mesh Polo Shirt works particularly well here because its sharper silhouette holds up when tucked in. A word on tucking – don’t be too fastidious about it – you’re not a school prefect anymore. Tuck it loosely in one place to allow a touch of fabric to blouse over the waistband. Pair it with flat-front chinos in a contrasting colour. The Bedford Stretch Straight Fit Trouser is the right sort of supporting act: clean enough for smart-casual plans, but add a turn-up and they’re easy-going. Polo With Shorts Shorts still work well into early autumn when paired with the right layers. Start with a polo, add an iconic Oxford button-down over the top, and keep a fine-gauge knit close by for cooler evenings. Choose tailored shorts that finish just above the knee and complete the look with canvas trainers or loafers. It is an easy way to stretch summer dressing into the transitional months. Polo With Linen Trousers Linen trousers bring a looser drape and visible texture that play beautifully against the knitted structure of a piqué polo; the textural contrast between the two fabrics makes the outfit look interesting. Keep the polo tone relatively muted, perhaps the Standard Fit Textured Piqué Polo Shirt, and go with a straight-leg linen trouser. Again, add a turn-up or two and bookend the look with leather or suede sandals for a nonchalant flourish. What to Wear Over a Polo Shirt The answer is not a bulky hoodie. A lightweight, unstructured jacket or cropped jersey jacket are two great options depending on the situation. Ralph Lauren’s Bi-Swing Jacket is a particularly good casual option over a classic mesh polo and chinos: it has enough shape to feel intentional, but none of the formality of tailoring. Think of it as a modern take on the traditional Harrington jacket. With one eye on a transitional autumn wardrobe, a polo-collar knit is the smarter textural alternative to forcing a short-sleeved polo through October. The Washable Wool Polo-Collar Jumper works beneath an overcoat or unstructured blazer without the shirt-and-tie formality, while the Mesh-Knit Cotton Quarter-Zip Jumper feels a bit more Ivy League, and is an easy layer to pull over a polo for travelling or laid-back weekends. Quarter- and half-zips are enjoying something of a revival too. Perfecting The Palette Ralph Lauren organises its polo colourways into loose families rather than one fixed palette, and thinking in those terms makes building outfits far easier than picking colours at random. A classic white or navy style is always your foundation piece. These have built-in versatility and will literally go with anything. The deeper reds, navy tones, and forest greens are great tones to slide into autumn, pairing nicely with stone chinos, khaki tones, and winter whites. The brighter, holiday-ready shades are good for adding a punch of colour to your holiday fits. Oranges, greens, and violet can really make a look pop, even if it’s just in the barely-there pop of a collar beneath a lightweight knit. A Timeless Icon The polo shirt’s genius was never really about the mesh cotton or the embroidered pony – it’s that Ralph Lauren gave men permission to dress well without appearing to try too hard. He bottled ‘sprezzatura’, made it a pillar of Americana, and then sent it out into the world. Nearly 60 years on, it still does the heavy lifting in so many discerning wardrobes, and remains proof that the best style ideas are rarely complicated, leaving room for you to make them your own. Shop the full polo shirt collection at ralphlauren.co.uk. — A paid partnership with Ralph Lauren – words and opinions are Ape’s own.