What's Your Go-to Polo Shirt?

[hysteria]

For those who have a few pairs of John Smedley polos, could you comment on sizing?
Their Modern Fit seems way too short. Standard fit seems ok, but still appears a tad short in the medium size.
I'm 5"7 and weigh 145bs. I wear small in almost everything, but it seems like I Need to take a Medium in the Standard Fit for JS.
Just want to double-check with others.

 

[Jason12]

Looks like every dimension of the shirt can be changed based on Yeossal's custom measurement function.

Have you tried Collaro's polo as well? Very similar product and price point being offered there as well.

thats good to hear as when I did my yeossal one about year ago only sleeve and length could change.

Haven't tried collaro but I imagine at their price point the fabric would be similar. You can also get different collars like normal spread collar. Their shirts are nice but I haven't tried the polos

 

[Gustaf]

Any Drumohr cotton polo owners in the house? I haven’t seen it mentioned on any of the 18 pages so far.

 

[SirThopas]

Any Drumohr cotton polo owners in the house? I haven’t seen it mentioned on any of the 18 pages so far.

I’m one. I like the Biscottino finish, though my wife says it makes me look like a golfer (a bad thing in her book). Another British heritage brand now rehomed in Italy!

 

[hysteria]

Has anyone tried The Weave Above?
They seem to be a relatively newer maker from Singapore with a small collection. They are offering very similar swan neck polos to Yeossal but almost half the price. Very curious about it.

The Weave Above

Custom Fine Clothing. Ships Worldwide.

www.theweaveabove.com

 

[Bradford]

Am I the only person who still prefers the classic Ralph Lauren Polo?

 

[rjc149]

Am I the only person who still prefers the classic Ralph Lauren Polo?

A lot of guys here (myself included) don't like the collar and the logo.

 

[Bradford]

A lot of guys here (myself included) don't like the collar and the logo.

That's too bad. I can't stand the current flat collar look. They remind me of ugly 70's golf shirts 😂

 

[josepidal]

Has anyone tried The Weave Above?
They seem to be a relatively newer maker from Singapore with a small collection. They are offering very similar swan neck polos to Yeossal but almost half the price. Very curious about it.

The Weave Above

Custom Fine Clothing. Ships Worldwide.

www.theweaveabove.com

A Singapore based MTM maker that sells long sleeved polos?

 

[phuclong_hl]

Am I the only person who still prefers the classic Ralph Lauren Polo?

I don't like their logo.

 

[c689]

Looking for some one piece collar polo, both long and short sleeve. Any suggestion?

 

[Concordia]

An update

Just tried a few options from CustomShirt1 (Kabbaz). Very fine make, from Zimmerli and the equivalent, but I find the collars just a hair small. I know they are normally unbottoned, but it is a reminder that there is little margin for error in the cut. Probably best under a blazer, where the luxury cloth, close fit, and otherwise well-cut collar will have a role.

Sunspel's range is quite comprehensive. The Sea Island (not the Riviera, which I find incorrectly shaped), pique, knit, linen, and toweling are all quite nice, if often expensive. Sea Island long sleeve is a pretty good find. The Jersey long-sleeve is featherweight and useful in concept, but I find the cuffs ride up ridiculously, especially under a jacket.

Smedley are very useful in Sea Island, both long and short sleeve. I like the more generous cuts (Isis and Finchley), but they have alternatives.

Now that I've traded down a body size in Lacoste, I find the long sleeves aren't quite as fabulous as before. Might go back up and just deal with the extra inch in the chest. You can order "bespoke" online, which appears to be made in France. Fabric may be lighter than in the past. It doesn't seem as bulletproof, anyway.

And for cheap, reliable stuff that fits-- long and short sleeve-- Land's End is still hard to beat.

As you were.

 

[josepidal]

Sea Island Cotton as a particular fibre is ridiculously overrated/priced IMHE when compared with such great Egyptian alternatives.

can you elaborate? where do you get higher quality fabric at more sensible prices?

 

[FlithyButler]

can you elaborate? where do you get higher quality fabric at more sensible prices?

If you'll pardon the pun; it is immaterial.

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IMHO Sea Island's supposed ultimate supremacy of quality beyond all else is at the core pretty much BS, and its image of being so is maintained by two elements;
a) exclusivity/rarity (only 0.0005% of annual global cotton production)
b) Marketing/info-omission (propaganda)

What is vital to grasp, and the thing you will no doubt never see advertised, is the fact that Sea Island (just the same as its Egyptian counterpart) is grown from the cotton Gossypium Barbadense.

It is this particular strain of the cotton plant which is unique in yielding the highly desirable Extra-Long Staple (ELS) fibers (i.e. 35mm+) which enables the production of a superlative final fabric.

90% of annual global clothing cotton production is grown from the strain Gossypium Hirsutum which produces an inferior quality fiber for clothing - but grows faster, enabling greater output and "efficiency", so Capitalism.

As such, the real crux of the matter is whether you believe the unique climatic growing conditions of the Caribbean are in any meaningful way superior to the unique climatic growing conditions of the Nile Delta - or is the huge price premium simply due to the minuscule production quantity and market-share (0.0005!) and limited landmass, together with its historical reputation, image and branding - all together ensuring a far greater asking price (a la. Champagne).

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I have been wearing a Sunspel Sea Island piece for several years now, and while it has absolutely held up very well with frequent wear & washes (as it damn well should for the retail price), I have not found it meaningfully superior in any sense; either to Sunspel's own equivalent items made instead with Egyptian cotton, or my similar garments worn & washed as much from other brands marketed on the basis of their ELS Egyptian pedigree, and at a fraction of the price.

 

[josepidal]

I waited over a decade to finally get this explanation on sea island cotton. I'm in tears.