In a previous article, I discussed the origins of the button-down collar and its association with the sport of polo. To recap: in the 1890s, John Brooks of Brooks Brothers noticed that polo players were wearing shirts with button-down collars, and introduced the style into American casual wear. Today, Brooks Brothers still markets its button-downs as “The Original Polo Shirt.” But if the button-down was worn by polo players, who wore the polo shirt? For the answer to that question, we have turn our focus to another sport, a few decades later.
At the turn of the 20th Century, tennis players wore long flannel pants, neckties, and long sleeve shirts similar to the ones worn by polo players in the same era. Tennis players would often roll up their sleeves for greater comfort and ease of motion, but they found the attire confining and sleeves could roll down and flap loose during a particularly heated volley. Even the top players felt hindered by the status quo and one of them set out to change it.
Eric Langlois
Eric Langlois is a writer, menswear professional, and history enthusiast based on the North Shore of Massachusetts.
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