The polo shirts embroidered with company logos have become the de rigour design over the last few years, but is now seen everywhere you look in different guises, but where did it come from in the first place.

There are a couple of claims to the design but one of the most likely is that it came about as a modification of an existing garment. English Polo players in India modified the traditional long sleeved top to incorporate short sleeves and a collar. In 1929 Rene Lecoste developed this further by using lighter materials and also made the collar thicker so that it could be turned up to provide extra sun protection while playing.

In the 1960s the youth movement known as ‘The Mods’ or ‘Modernists’ took inspiration from French culture in a big way; as well as this garment cycling shirts were seen as the “must have” items of clothing to be seen wearing. However it was another brand that took over as the ‘uniform’ for this group and this was Fred Perry, at the time Lecoste’s biggest rival and interestingly enough another ex-tennis player. Perry gained the edge due to the extra detailing he added, including the laurel emblem which was embroidered rather than ironed onto the shirt itself.

Since then this garment has become more mainstream and is used all over the world appearing in varying styles and designs, available in a multitude of colours and materials as the first choice not only for workwear but as promotional garments to be given away and has gone back to its roots by appearing both on the tennis courts and on the golf course. Polo Shirts embroidered with numerous designs, advertising everything from plumbers to television series fan clubs, have come a long way from there humble beginnings on an Indian polo field and it will be interesting to see where they go next.