SH2410

Description

While the earliest known roots of polo reach back as far as 6th century BC, the modern form of this horseback sport can be traced back to 19th Century India. British military men stationed in Manipur, India, adopted polo from Indian natives and brought the sport back to the U.K. where it became synonymous with wealth, royalty, and the upper-class. The original shirts worn by polo players were long sleeved and made of woven fabric, actually very similar to what we today refer to as an Oxford Shirt, (style# SH214) To prevent the collar from blowing in the wind, it was buttoned down. Ironically, the polo shirt we know today was born from a completely different sport — tennis. Like polo, tennis ‘whites’ in the early 1900s featured a long-sleeved button-down shirt. Looking to improve the practicality of this design was French tennis star Jean René Lacoste, who had a knit shirt with a half placket designed for himself to wear. By the 50's the Polo shirts, as we know it today short sleeved lightweight knit body, sturdy knit collar and buttoned half placket, was worn by golfers and well as tennis players and polo players. By the 1960's the "tennis shirt/polo shirt" resonated with many youn