Lisa Armstrong: The preppy polo shirt is back to pep up your spring wardrobe
Oh mighty little collared thing, how have we done without you all this time?
To be fair, not all of us have. Dwayne Johnson, Boris Becker, Donald J Trump, Prince Harry, to name but four colossi of the style firmament, have remained steadfast polo shirt wearers throughout its vicissitudes on Planet Fashion.
They're not my usual references, but this column keeps a broad mind (it also doesn't want to admit that it may have been influenced by such latter-day fly-by-night polo shirt wearers as Hailey Bieber). The only thing any of us need to bear in mind is that polo shirts have made a comeback and that we can probably attribute this to Miu Miu's spring/summer 2024 catwalk show.
When in doubt, you can generally name-drop Miu Miu as the source of most Lazarus-like levitations from the fashion dead these days, with a fairish chance of being accurate. The kids will be impressed by your knowledge. No need to mention Trump's contribution. For extra points, you could casually acknowledge that you lived in Ralph Lauren's polo shirts back in the day. They may swoon. Polo Ralph Lauren is highly sought after on vintage sites by Gen Z.
By far the most desirable polo shirts are the knitted ones. So snug. So cute, but also sporty in a vague way, which is how fashion's sporty allusions should always be IMO. There are plenty to choose from, from Baukjen's grey recycled-wool-blend one, to Chloé's pale blue rib which, given the £755 price tag, is rather surprisingly made from plain old wool rather than the shavings of a Kardashian's body hair.
No need to go the whole preppy hog here, unless you genuinely feel you can pull off the Clueless look. More modern would be to slot your polo knit under a masculine (ie not fitted) blazer or, for advanced students of fashion, style it over a shirt, possibly striped, although not if your knit is also patterned. If you're bringing your A game, you might try a natty neckerchief. I think the Miu Miu approach of wearing them with knickers is possibly best avoided.
Alternatively, keep things straightforward by pairing your polo knit with something sharp, such as the pinstripe trousers I'm wearing here, for a semi-tailored office look. I've allowed myself loafers, but to avoid being a literal preppy throwback, I've gone for platforms rather than the ultra-classic penny loafer. If you want to be peerlessly 2025, deck shoes are the way forward.
The major advantage of a polo knit is an adjustable V-neckline that's flattering and spring-like, in a warm and cosy but also smart package.
In this fractured world of ours, the polo knit somehow still brings to mind the soothingly patrician things in life (yachting, golfing, tennis, haemorrhaging money on polo ponies). Better still, it does all of this without you having to partake in a single one of them.
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