Clothing Definitions — definitions of garments and clothing terms from Apparel Search
A tennis shirt, often referred to in popular culture as a polo shirt, is a T-shaped shirt with a collar and two buttons; occasionally it also includes a pocket. Common fabrics are pique cotton, jersey cotton and pima cotton. Sometimes the cloth is cut so the back hangs a few centimetres lower than the front, a feature called a tennis tail. The 1929 design by tennis player Rene Lacoste called for a thick pique collar that could be worn turned up to block the sun from the neck.
Sometimes a tennis shirt's cloth is cut so that the back hangs a few centimeters lower than the front.
This is called a tennis tail. The original 1929 design by tennis player Rene Lacoste called for a thick pique collar that one would wear turned up in order to block the sun from one's neck.
During the 1990's, the tennis shirt became the standard informal business attire for the high tech industry. In the People's Republic of China, most younger government officials wear a tennis shirt (sometimes made of silk) as standard business attire.
| The above article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/polo_shirt). 11/10/04 |
The tennis shirt solved specific problems of its sport. The soft collar replaced the stiff dress-shirt collars early tennis players competed in; the short buttoned placket vented heat and kept the collar tidy; the pique knit breathed, resisted the wash and did not cling; the tail kept the shirt in place through serves and stretches. Polo players adopted a version of the same shirt, which is how the polo name attached itself to a tennis invention, and golfers followed. Each sport kept the shirt because the design is genuinely good at its job.
The collar is the whole secret of the shirt's second career. A T-shirt reads as underwear-derived casual; add a collar and a placket and the same knit body reads as a shirt, acceptable in offices, clubs and restaurants that would turn a T-shirt away. That bridge made the tennis shirt the uniform of business casual in the 1990s technology industry and a default for uniforms, staff clothing and smart-casual dress codes ever since. Variations stay inside narrow bounds: pocket or none, long or short sleeves, tipped collar stripes, logo embroidery at the chest, because the category's value is exactly its recognizability.
A tennis tail is a cut in which the back of the shirt hangs a few centimetres lower than the front. The extra length at the back keeps the shirt tucked and covered when the player bends and reaches, the movements tennis constantly requires.
Tennis player Rene Lacoste, whose 1929 design specified a thick pique collar that could be worn turned up to block the sun from the neck. The pique cotton construction, breathable, textured and durable, became the standard fabric of the style.
During the 1990s the tennis shirt became the standard informal business attire of the high-tech industry, and in some countries it serves as standard business attire for younger officials. The collar makes it read as a shirt rather than a T-shirt, which is what lets it cross into offices.