Vintage Polo Shirts

[South]

I've had a hard time finding good Polo type shirts. In the early 80s, I had some Izod/Lacoste shirts that were great. They were a heavy cotton, with a bit of a coarse, solid weave. I can't find anything quite like that now.

For years, I've bought Chaps, Izod (which is no longer part of Lacoste), Lacoste and some others. It seems the ones I've had are thin, don't have that heavy weave and don't hold up. They fade quickly, wear out quickly and lots of them have problems with collars. A lot of the collars will "crease" on one side and forever look wrong.

My wife just bought me a Lacoste, which I thought would be like the old ones. Wrong. It faded after three washes and is thinner than the old ones. (My wife wears one of my old ones around the house sometimes, so I have something to compare it to. It's nearly 30 years old!)

Any recommendations for something better?

Thanks!

[Hemingway Jones]

Lacoste makes several different styles of Polos from all sorts of different materials from pique to pima. I have several, have never had a problem with them, and would never characterize mine as thinner than the ones I had back at school in the 80s.

If you are looking for a thicker heavier canvas style Polo similar to a rugby shirt, then I would suggest you check out Barbour who makes excellent tough Polos and Ralph Lauren's Rugby brand, which does as well.

Good luck!

[Tailor Tom]

I used to work for RL in the late 80's, and bought several Polo shirts (I should have bought more). I still have some of those 20 year old shirts and the are great. They have been washed hundreds of times (and we're talking Red, Navy, etc) and kept their color, never had loose stitches or even have a button fall off. They traveled the world to keep me dressed in casual classic style. I have been through numerous brands of other Polo's since, none held up, kept their color & shape as well as Ralph Lauren. They have outlasted all the competition and still get worn on a regular basis in season. I have said it time and time again, nothing beats Ralph Lauren classics.

[resortes805]

Cushman

[Tomasso]

I prefer the finer cotton pique from the Italian mills to the beefy coarse stuff.

And machine washing/drying is really stressful to cotton garments, especially the dryer. Hand washing, air drying with a light pressing on the reverse side is the way to go with polo shirts.

[Richard Warren]

Ralph Lauren is best. Lacoste aren't cut like they used to be, fabric is too thin, no tail.

[Undertow]

I guess it depends on what you're going for. Is this a day on the golf course? Or a typical Tuesday at the office? Or just a wear-around? Maybe you're trying to impress a new lady?

I agree with Corky in that you should get some cheapies, wear them out and toss them if you must. But if you're going for the gold, or you want to impress someone, or if you simply have a thing for quality clothes (which is an excellent habit to possess), then you might need to throw down some cash.

Doesn't Brooks Brothers have a nice line? I always thought they were relatively high quality. I'm sure Younkers or JC Penny's has something of value and taste.

Quality is hard to determine because one shipment might be great, whereas another has busted seams, or lame stitching, etc. I think Lacoste is fine, but nothing to sell the farm over. Ralph is good, always has been, but boy are they expensive.

[Chasseur]

I've been pretty happy with Brooks Brothers polos. I wait until there is a sale at my local factory store. I find they run large though, so try them on first, its easy to end up swiming in them unless you are looking at slim fit ones.

[Tomasso]

I have owned many of the more expensive brands of Polo shirts and I have observed that they are all more or less the same quality as the medium priced brands.

Really? I've found that the higher priced polos are generally better made and use higher quality knit fabrics (milled in IT, CH and UK) than those at the mid-market. These knits have a superior handle and wear better than the lesser quality knits. Mind you, I'm not referring to the super sheer stuff that while beautiful does have a tendency to be fragile.

[davestlouis]

I've about given up on polos...they all want to shrink up over time and there's not enough tail to stay tucked in. It doesn't help that I need bell-bottom shirts to cover my ever-expanding belly, but the tail in back is too short too, even in 2X Tall sizes, and I'm only 6 ft tall.

I've graduated to aloha shirts and guayabera-styled items that I can leave untucked.