The Common Thread of a Polo, Tennis and Golf Shirts

A tennis shirt is actually what most people are referring to when they say "polo shirt" or "golf shirt." These are a type of t-shirt that has a collar, two or three buttons down the front slit, and two side slits on the bottom. They often come with a chest pocket and made from such fine fabrics as; knitted pique cotton, merino wool, and silk.

Rene Lacoste, a 7-time tennis Grand Slam winner from France, is credited as the first person to create the tennis shirt when he introduced his shirt design in 1929. The idea of creating the shirt came to Lacoste because the tennis apparel up to that time consisted of long-sleeved shirts, trousers and ties. The clothes worn by tennis players on the tennis court during the 19th and early 20th centuries were more appropriate for offices. Besides, the dress shirts worn on the courts were stiff and the ties heavy.

On the other hand, Lacoste's tennis shirt had a thick collar, was loose and non-starched, was made of pique cotton, had side slits at the bottom, and sported a longer shirt-tail. The thick collar, when turned up, provided protection to the neck so that the player didn't get sun burned.

What's interesting about Lacoste's tennis shirt was that polo players were already wearing shirts of the same design since the late 19th century. Back then, they wore long-sleeved shirts that had a button-down collar. These shirts were made of thick Oxford-cloth cotton. Even though the collar of this shirt-style was thick and didn't constantly flap from the wind, these polo shirts were still not comfortable nor were they convenient to wear. Thus, when polo players discovered Lacoste's shirt design during the 1930s, they didn't think twice about adopting his design for their polo shirt.

If you need any kind of information on this article related topic click here: T-shirt for Men