The history of the polo shirt starts with the invention of polo as a sport and the searching of those individuals to find a uniform that lent itself to exclusivity tailoring hard riding and après sport socializing. After some innovation against the original impracticality of a conventional polo shirt, a woven long sleeve polo garment, the new knit polo shirt was invented.

Tennis champions and golf superstars everywhere breathed a sigh of relief. In less than five decades, the polo shirt has become the universal possession owned by almost everyone, everywhere. The knit polo shirt may be the mainstay of Western fashion civilization. Knit polo shirts were also cheap to manufacture fabric for and replace. Early polo shirts had stripes insets showing a certain team or nationality.

Men playing polo was an exclusive sport, played internationally among men who could afford to travel and have recreation regularly with more than one horse in perfect condition. Woven shirts with buttoned collar plackets were universally used. But when hard driving polo players encountered the brilliance of Lacoste’s innovation, they adapted the style.

The physical conditions of playing polo were such that immense strength and a gentlemanly build might be matched together on the field. Therefore general size and dimensions could have fresh shirts ready quickly in any country, any locale. But until tennis champ Rene Lacoste designed his "alligator" chemise around 1933, necks got sunburned and long sleeves rolled up and down at will.

The general construction of the polo shirt is a loose panel versus the classic weave tailored shirt. The woven fabric usually utilized in a tailormade men’s shirt did not have the give an athletic, sportive garment required for competitive play was knickers and sweaters. Sports clothing for golf was classically almost unusable for play. Thicker "flannel" garments tailored like formal clothing made sportswear almost awkward.

As sports became less a gentlemen’s province and the purview of the everyman, simpler yet functional garments emerged. Expansion of knit mills after the turn of the century allowed better sourcing for custom knit goods. Cotton emerged as a favorite because it ran soft to the skin. Cotton knit pique also became a sport fabric because it breathed so well. Wider availability meant clothing manufacturers were just waiting for demand to drive designers to order it.

Adoption of the polo shirt by tennis for athletic reasons meant that polo shirts were often looked upon as tennis shirts because the shirt collar could be replaced and the striped fabric camouflaged perspiration. Golf also adapted the polo shirt, though generally these shirts can be heavier for early morning play. Long rounds of golf made the polo shirt desired for that sport as well. Again, unrestricted arm span and breathable comfort make the knit polo shirt a wardrobe necessity at work, sport or play.

As the rest of a typical riding costume is a tight fitting jacket, cap, jodphurs or breeches, and boots, the torso may be the only area of the skin allowed to breathe and receive air and breezes. The combined necessity of tighter fit and expanded flexibility was a unique demand on clothes of its era of origin. The use of cotton knit became popular after Coco Chanel started using underwear weight knits in her avante garde sportswear in the 1900’s.

The shoulder of a polo shirt seems to ride along the top of shoulders, and because of their weight and placement bear most of the strain of the garment. As a result, polo shirts sit benignly on the body when worn loose. Tight polo shirts on women and men can be fashion statements. Polo shirts can be layered, worn with extreme jewelry, worn with sports clothing, and worn to work with casual pants or trousers.