Vintage Polo Shirts

[Sam Craig]

In the 60s, one of the popular polos was the Banlon ... which was a synthetic silk and they were not only cut slim, but they were clingy.
Unfortunately they were also incredibly hot and did not breathe.

Sam

 

[fnoprx]

Most of the year I wear shirts - loop collar og button down. But in the summer I find polos practical and comfortable. Have tried different brands, but my favourite is still good old Fred Perry. The quality is great, they fit trim but not too trim, and the design is timeless. If only they were cheaper...

 

[lupo]

Fred Perry is wonderful. Along the same "boots and braces" lines, though slightly lower end: Ben Sherman. One I recently got into is Lonsdale, though they're incredibly hard to find in the US. IMO: best slim cut polo shirt of all. At least in the US, they also have fewer unsavory political associations, because nobody here knows where to buy one of them.

Ralph Laurin Polo makes a pretty cool athletic cut polo shirt, but you have to be able to rock some bright colors most of the time.

 

[Mr Vim]

That is the nice thing about Polo shirts, is that for the most part, I do not think they have changed over time. I can walk into a store and buy one that is very similar to one from fifty years ago.

And welcome Lupo, we're glad to have you here.

 

[JanSolo]

I wear the Lacoste L1212 almost exclusively. They were introduced in the 30s and haven't changed much since then. The come mostly in solid colours but there are loads of multi-coloured models as well.
They are a true slim fit (if you can take a smaller size) with short sleeves and a narrow body

They are not cheap but the quality is way above any other brand, with Fred Perry and to a lesser extend Ralph Lauren being the only exception. Plus it's a style icon from the 60s.
I still wear half a dozen of the Polos my father bought in the early 60s on regular basis (1 day of wear, wash, iron ...) during summer and the colour and stitching hold up very well.

This is what it looks like:

 

[Hemingway Jones]

Brooks Brothers makes slim cut polo shirts and they are currently on sale for 25% off.

 

[Your Grandpa Dressed Cool]

Knitted shirt as seen on Chet Baker

Hey all. Ran across this great picture of Chet Baker, and was wondering if anybody knew where I could find a shirt similar to what he is wearing in this picture.

It would also be great if somebody knows some combing techniques that would achieve Chet's hair, hahahahhahah. Thanks all.

 

[Your Grandpa Dressed Cool]

bump

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

could be a knitted polo shirt? Don't see how far the buttoning goes.
Is the picture from the fities/ sixties?
sorry I don't know a source anyway but "knit polo" on ebay or etsy could do the trick. But beware of polyester and acrylic knits because of BO ;-)

 

[Mr Badger]

There used to be quite a few variations on this type of sweater/shirt available, but many of them were poly (Banlon, Gabicci, etc) or simply too baggy (generic 'Italian' knits from your local mall men's store) – about the best, if a little pricey, options is still the classic, fitted John Smedley Isis shirt in Sea Island cotton...

Here's me in a vintage Banlon, outside a London landmark as used in the film Quadrophenia, circa 1999. The pic appeared in the excellent book on British cult movies, Your Face Here...

Sunglasses: Brick Lane market, 50p. Suit: Saville Row via Walthamstow Town Hall boot fair, £5. Shirt: 1960s Banlon, thrift store, $1. Desert boots: British Army WWII issue, Brick Lane market, £1. Male pattern baldness: model's own.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

I wondered about the John Smedley shirt because they come up quite fast when you google "mod polo" or "60s polo"
I guess most of the polo shirts wont have the same sleeve details as chet's shirt.

Maybe one from etsy?
Etsy Jantzen
Etsy Italian
Etsy Navy cheap

 

[Tomasso]

The Baron and resortes805 could shed some light....

 

[filfoster]

Hey all. Ran across this great picture of Chet Baker, and was wondering if anybody knew where I could find a shirt similar to what he is wearing in this picture.

It would also be great if somebody knows some combing techniques that would achieve Chet's hair, hahahahhahah. Thanks all.

Deep in a Dream. He had a great look and haunting sound but some pretty bad habits, yes? That bio out a few years ago with the companion CD made great listnening, depressing reading.

Try www.americanvintageclassics.com
or
www.american-vintage.net

 

[resortes805]

I have a medium sized collection of vintage knit t-shirts from the 1940s and 1950s. The good news is that most collectors go after the shirts with crew necks; so the collared tend to not go as much. The bad news is that the collared shirts tend to be rarer. Here is one on ebay.

 

[esteban68]

Vintage 'polo' shirt

I wasn't sure where to put this so it's here feel free mods to put it where it should go?
I saved this the other day at a local charity shop, I say saved as it's too small for me but I couldn't bear to think of it being scrapped etc.
It's an Empire made 100% combed cotton 'polo' type shirt of the type I remember my Grandfather wearing when I was much younger, it even has it's original tag on it, I am pretty sure it has never been worn though it does have a couple of storage marks that I am sure would come out in the (careful) wash, but that's for it's next/new owner to do.
I really like the collar edging detail, anybody any idea where or when it was made? I am guessing it is the 50's or so because of the label wording? it has " QUALITY PRODUCT OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE" on the label.

 

[Gene]

Looks 50's to me

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Looks 50's to me

Agreed. Maybe very early '60s.

That particular style of polo shirt has been on the market, practically unchanged, since the 1930s.

 

[Chasseur]

I like the pocket shape and also the texture of the shirt, quite nice!

As an aside I do enjoying finding products with the "British Empire Made" tag. I have set of 7x50 British Regent binoculars with the stamp, "Empire Made" on them and does make me feel rather Gunga Din.

 

[Dronak]

Blazer/Sportcoat with Polo Shirt?

I recently saw this post at the Art of Manliness, How to Dress for the Kentucky Derby, which has a nice graphic showing four different styles of dress. The last one, with a sport coat and polo shirt was a general combination that I never really considered. I always thought of blazers or sports coats as more formal, meant to go with dress clothes, and polo shirts as more casual wear. But I tried it on myself to see what my wife would think, and she seemed to like it. So I thought it might be an easy way to dress up a little more at work without going to actual dress clothes. Dress tends towards the casual side where I work; people do generally look nice and not too casual, but there aren't many suits or the like. Looking at comments on that Art of Manliness post and at a few other places on the web, opinions on the blazer/polo combination seem to be mixed. That made me curious as to what people here think about it, at least in terms of wearing it nowadays (because I realize it may not be a traditional pairing). Thanks in advance!

 

[Otateral]

I do it on occasion, though I know its not sartorially accepted. It works for me.