February 9, 2012 world of men's style / fashion / grooming RSS
“Polo Shirts”
01/11/12
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LinkOut

Ehren Dorsey Could Use a Little Help

Ehren Dorseyvia Oyster Magazine

Rugby Season: Kent Wang’s long-sleeved cutaway polos are looking better and better—especially the burnt orange one. Count us in. [Put This On]

Live Long and Prosper: Here’s a nice trick: extend the life span of your clothes by keeping them out of the dryer. Of course, there’s more to it than just that… [Valet]

Brut Force: Brett McKay collects six classic drugstore colognes, including the rarely seen Stetson cologne. Look, but don’t touch. [Art of Manliness]

The Stripe: A dress shirt made in America for under $100. Naturally, we’re curious. [Well Spent]

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10/27/11
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The Past

In Which We Rummage Through Arnold Palmer’s Old Clothes

A polo, wool pants and a cardigan. They’re all simple items, but they were practically a uniform for Arnold Palmer in the ’50s. It was one of the tricks that carried him to icon status, and a surprisingly easy one to pull off today. So naturally, we were a bit curious about exactly how the glorious trifecta looked up close.

It turns out, it looks pretty good.

We recently got a peek at the original items, straight from Mr. Palmer’s closet (courtesy of the fine folks at his clothing line, Arnie). And as you might expect, it was glorious.

What you can learn from Arnold Palmer’s clothes…»
 

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08/08/11
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Good Idea

Your Pre-Fall Provisions

Pre-Fall

The leaves have yet to turn, but you can feel the subtle changes happening. Nights are getting cooler. Your urge for selvage denim, stronger. We’re entering the transitional phase between gin fizz weather and spiked cider weather—a phase we like call Pre-Fall.

On any given day, you’ll need to be prepared for a sudden turn for the brisk. So we’ve put together the four key ingredients to keeping warm but not too warm in the weeks upcoming. Mix to taste.

The four winds of pre-fall style…»

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08/03/11
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Icon

The Icon: Arnold Palmer

Arnold Palmer

Golf is not, in this day and age, a stylish game. But it wasn’t always so. Once upon a time, it was a paradise of slim-cut polos, pressed slacks and summer sweaters. And presiding over it all, there was a man named Arnold Palmer…

A sartorial salute to the King of Golf…»

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07/13/11
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LinkOut

Pamela Sue Martin Wants No Funny Stuff

Pamela Sue Martinvia WBE

Miscellaneous Handsomeness: An assortment of loose pictures, covering blog-bait from Nato straps to madras. [A Headlong Dive]

Tennis Whites: Dennis Tang doubles down on the all-white Lacoste polo for summer. Not a bad move. [GQ]

The Pictures: A personal essay about surfing, being young and looking up from Aaron Gilbreath. [Paris Review]

Get Onboard: And continuing our recent surf obsession, this hand-crafted wooden board is one of the coolest things we’ve seen all day. [Gear Patrol]

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06/13/11
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Good Idea

The Cutaway Polo

Ice Cream Polo

The polo shirt hasn’t changed much in the last few cycles, so we were happy to see a new tweak coming to the surface this summer.

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time to acquaint yourselves with the cutaway polo.

See a few of our favorites, after the jump»

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06/01/11
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Good Idea

In Praise of the Polo Shirt and Suit

Polo Shirt

The business suit is a powerful thing. Find one that fits, and it basically calls out for a crisp shirt, an expertly knotted tie and a briefcase full of important documents. (Strangely enough, the documents are the hardest thing to come by.)

But there’s more to the suit than point collars and ties. A prime example: this snap from Men of Habit, starring a Phineas Cole suit, a Brooks Brothers pique polo and a dangerously louche demeanor. It’s a pretty staid suit by itself, but throw a soft collar underneath it and all the starch goes out the window. If people dressed like this on casual Fridays, we might actually look forward to them.

You’ll want to accessorize with some kind of brown liquor…

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05/25/11
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Art Threat

Leroy Grannis, King of the Beach

Band of Outsiders Polo by Leroy Grannis

This summery polo from Band of Outsiders has been making its way through boutiques all season as the hipster answer the Hawaiian shirt.

It’s handsome stuff—although perhaps easier to pull off in California than New York—but we’re more curious about the photo itself. It was taken by Leroy Grannis, the godfather of surf photography who’s found his way onto a number of Outsiders polos lately. And in honor of surfing weather we’ve rounded up a few of his best shots.

Feel free to reenact a few of them this weekend.

Check out our favorite Leroy Grannis shots»

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05/12/11
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Object

The Eton Collar

Eton Collar

The club collar’s been popping up on the tweedier variety of dress shirt for a while now—we’re looking at you, Mr. Alan—but it’s finally made the leap to more casual climes. This is Baron Wells’ Eton Collar Polo, and it manages to dodge the stuffy Edwardian vibe in favor of rugby-ready playfulness. Keep an eye on the sleeves and it’ll be hard to steer this wrong.

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04/29/11
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Object

The Other Contrast Collar Polo

Wings + Horns Polo

The contrast collar marches on. Our latest example is this plaid-collared polo from Wings + Horns.

It’s quieter than the Left Field version (think David Byrne instead of Golden Age Burt Reynolds), but still summery enough to see you through any road trips you might have planned. You can count that collar as your daily allotment of plaid.

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04/25/11
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Good Idea

The Contrast Polo

Contrast Polo Shirt

The polo shirt hasn’t changed too much in the past few decades…but it’s never too late to learn a few new tricks. And this summer, that means contrast collars.

It’s the same offbeat vein Fred Perry has been mining for years, but lately Band of Outsiders has gotten in on the game with some pretty handsome items as well.

But our favorite of the bunch is this one from Left Field, a brand that’s been creeping into our favorite shops quite a bit this season. Something about the heathered front and the floral jolt on the placket puts this at the head of the pack—although something tells us we’ll see plenty more over the next few weeks.

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03/29/11
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Sale-ing

Today’s Urgently Priced Polo Shirt

unispolo2_crop.jpg

We don’t need to explain to you the enduring appeal of the polo shirt or the accessible charm of Unis, but we’ve found something that might make it all a bit more immediately useful.

This polo shirt is $26.

It’s down from $88 as part of a storewide sale that’s also marked their contentious khakis down to a slightly-less-contentious $160, but we’re more impressed by the polo. And while we normally stop short of just “buy this now,” we’re severely tempted.

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02/09/11
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Object

The Polo of Summer

burkmanpolo_crop.jpg

The Burkman Brothers have always had a knack for summer gear, even without their trademark madras. Their 2011 crop just arrived at Barneys, including this near-perfect polo.

It’s a throwback item, patterned to look like something you might have worn to summer camp in the 80s. You can find a preppier take from Michael Bastian and a more nostalgic one from Band of Outsiders, but this might be our favorite. We’re not sure if it’s the shrunken collar or the high placket, but the whole thing comes off a good deal more grown-up than its predecessors. And since it’s going to be one of the more youthful items in your closet, that’s pretty good news.

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01/31/11
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Good Idea

The Look of Summer

stevenalanlookbook_crop.jpg

We’ve got good news: summer’s almost here.

Or at least spring/summer.

This snap comes from Steven Alan’s newly unveiled Spring/Summer lookbook (the goods just arrived online as well), and while we bet you’re already acquainted with the magic of a crisp set of khakis and a well-fitting polo, it’s worth noting just how well this chap’s pulling them off. Notice the sleeve of the polo, hitting at the thickest part of the bicep—or the uneven roll of the pants, showing just enough bare ankle to make it clear it’s all on purpose.

Let’s do this.

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06/28/10
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This Sporting Life

From the Sidelines

rlballboy_crop.jpg

As you may have noticed from Wimbledon, the ballboys are usually the best dressed people on the court. Of course, it’s usually through a judicious application of summer whites…but that’s not to say a few patches of color wouldn’t improve things.

This is Ralph Lauren’s upgrade—soon to be seen on the backs of the 80 ballboys that just completed their tryouts for the U.S. Open—and it’s pretty handsome stuff. Ralph being Ralph, it’s a bit more polo than tennis, but in the less strict confines of the U.S. Open, it should fit right in. And of course, if you find yourself playing lineman for any less professional games this summer, it might not be such a bad piece to have handy.

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05/13/10
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Object

The Plunge

gitmanpolo_crop.jpg

Gitman Brothers has been on quite a hitting streak lately, so we’re happy to see them branching out into polo territory. And it’s not even plaid…

This polo just arrived in the Inventory shop and while it’s not quite the madras-hued opus we were hoping for, it’s pretty handsome stuff. We’ll have to try one on to see if it obeys the golden rule of polos, but in the meantime we’re more interested in that extra-deep four-button placket. Dov would be proud.

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05/11/10
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Good Idea

The Perfect Fit

unispolo_crop.jpg

If you’ve been poring over fashion interviews this past week—and if you haven’t, we forgive you—you may have come across the following gem from Michael Bastian:

Take a polo shirt: the sleeves should hit right above the bicep—that makes your arm look amazing. It’s not a big change, but it’s slightly different than what you’re used to.

We’ve been puzzling over exactly what that looks like for a few days now, but fortunately Unis was good enough to provide us with the perfect example, courtesy of their Spring 2010 lookbook. If you were wondering, this is exactly how your polo shirt should fit. In fact, you may want to keep this picture in your wallet next time you hit the shops.

In particular, notice that the gentleman in question doesn’t have gym-rat arms, and despite the Bastian connection, he doesn’t come off as particularly preppy. He’s just a well-dressed man who knows how a polo should fit.

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04/23/10
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Big Picture

The Other Jersey Boys

chamarelli_crop.jpg

As part of our ongoing day-of-sport, we ran across this alternate-universe Brazilian soccer jersey from illustrator/tattoo artist Fernando Chamarelli. Sadly, the polo isn’t coming to stores…but you can always get the crest inked on your chest.

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05/29/09
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Object

The Fine Print

elmex_crop.jpg

Don’t say we didn’t warn you…

[This polo] from Japan’s Neighborhood takes an unusually direct approach to the Navajo look, taking one of the busier patterns and splashing it all over a loose collared polo shirt. It might be a bit more than we bargained for on its own—the eye can only take so much—but enough neutral layering might do the trick.

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04/13/09
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Object

Spreading Out

lacoste_crop.jpg

Boutique dress shirts have run through just about every kind of collar there is—from spread collars to club collars to tuxedo-style flip-point collars—but polos have been lagging pretty far behind.

Luckily, Lacoste is making a go of it. These spread-collared polos came about thanks to a collab with Japan’s United Arrows, who slimmed down the silhouette and curved out the collar for something that looks a lot more current than most of the alligator’s usual gear. (Apparently John Waters was onto something.)

Of course, we’ll give extra points to the first polo that gives us a club collar…but we’re not holding our breath.

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02/13/09
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Big Picture

Collared

waltdisney_crop.jpgvia benhasten

Continuing with our Old Hollywood obsession, we ran across this picture of Walt Disney.

The Bixby beltline is in full effect—this was the 30s, after all—but what caught our eye was the loose button-loops on the placket of his polo. It’s a look you might be more used to seeing on Errol Flynn (or Robin Hood).

But we wouldn’t be surprised if that’s where Walt picked it up.

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01/22/09
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Good Idea

Get Loose

rafperrypolo_crop.jpg

Loose-knit fabrics were one of the biggest trends to emerge from this season’s capsule show, and while we got a tiny taste of it with Raf Simon x Fred Perry’s S/S 09 collection, we’re now ready to upgrade it to a full blown happening.

This version is from Raf Perry’s Fall/Winter line, but we’d say approach it with caution. If you’re an undershirt type, you’re going to have a lot of glaring white peeking through…and even if you aren’t, you might have to worry about a few chest hairs making a break for it. It’s a good look if you can pull it off, but it’s not for everyone.

A more accessible option…»

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11/12/08
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Bad Idea

No Logo

attus_crop.jpg

The Threadless culture has inspired a lot of innovation, but there’s also been a wash of half-baked and out-and-out lazy designs letting a square inch of embroidery substitute for an actual idea. The most recent offender? Attus Prep.

We Are the Market big-upped these polos, but they’re just standard issue catalog-wear with an “edgy” symbol—a mohawked punk, a 40 oz bottle, a stripper on a pole—stitched where the usual polo player or seagull would go.

There’s a press packet, a few choice anti-establishment quotes, and logos to spare. If they just had some clothes, they might have something.

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10/02/08
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Current Affairs

In the Pocket

biden_crop.jpgVano Shlamov/Agence-France Presse, Getty Images

As part of Kempt’s ongoing election coverage, we thought we’d take a closer look at the older, less-Alaskan part of tonight’s Vice Presidential festivities: Joe Biden.

The best recommendation of the man comes from this photo, a snap from his most recent Georgian trip. Not only does he pull off the navy-polo-on-navy-sport-coat look that’s a staple of most over-60 wardrobes and find time for a well-folded pocket square, but he manages to out-aviator the actual aviators.

That’s what we call leadership experience.

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