The tennis shirt, originally designed for comfort during tennis matches by René Lacoste, has become a popular garment in various sports and fields, including fashion and business casual attire. The short-sleeved, collared T-shirt with a short placket was made of cotton pique for durability and breathability. The shirt was successful among polo players and was later introduced in fashion by designers like Ralph Lauren. It is now a preferred garment in the retail industry and among outdoor professionals.
A tennis shirt, often referred to as a polo or simply polo, is a style of shirt initially developed for use during tennis matches but has since spread to various sports and other fields as a preferred garment. Designed as a short-sleeved shirt in the form of a collared T-shirt with a short placket, usually with only two or three buttons, tennis shirts were intended to meet the needs of tennis players. However, since their invention, the use of these garments has spread to other areas and they have appeared in several different fashion collections.
In the late 19th century and early 20th century, men often wore long-sleeved, white, button-down shirts while playing tennis. These were commonly worn with heavy flannel pants, and the entire ensemble was not terribly suitable for extensive sporting activity. French tennis champion René Lacoste designed a new style of garment that would allow for greater comfort and movement and would generally better meet the needs of a tennis player.
Lacoste designed its first tennis shirt to have short sleeves, rather than the long sleeves that were traditionally worn rolled up and would be unrolled during a match. He included a collar that would help wick away sweat and could be turned up to keep sunlight off his neck. A short placket at the neckline would allow the shirt to be buttoned for greater modesty, or unbuttoned slightly to allow a wearer to cool off during a match. Lacoste used a knit fabric, specifically cotton pique, rather than a woven material, for greater durability and because it breathed better to help cool the wearer during play.
The original tennis shirt designed by Lacoste also included a small crocodile embroidered on the front chest, as American journalists began referring to it as “the crocodile” or “the crocodile”. His original design for the tennis shirt was immediately noticed by other players, and Lacoste soon partnered with a clothing retailer to mass-produce his garment. The shirt was quite successful with a number of different sportsmen, especially polo players, who wore the shirt so frequently that the design came to be known more often as a polo shirt than a tennis shirt in many different regions.
In the late 20th century, the tennis shirt was introduced in fashions by designers such as Ralph Lauren and became popular among technology companies and other office settings as the standard for “business casual” fashion. Tennis shirts are also often worn in the retail industry, where employers want a garment that is more professional than a plain T-shirt, but not as formal as a button-down dress shirt. Tennis shirts are also often preferred by many landscapers and other outdoor professionals as they still provide breathability to help keep the wearer cool, while the woven fabric is strong and durable.
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